The official website of HRH Princess Basmah Bint Saud

A Sculpture has been made in honour of HRH Princess Basmah

A sculpture has been made in honour of HRH Princess Basmah Bint Saud. It has been displayed in the Gallery of Nikolai Shmatko to represent HRH’s intelligence, wisdom and beauty. It has been made in recognition of HRH’s political and human rights efforts, as well as her embodiment of an Arab woman calling for reform in her county.


The sculpture has been said to be consistent with the main focus of Nikolai Shmatko’s artwork in creating women’s images. This time, he decided to represent the ideal of woman’s beauty through a sculptural portrait of HRH Princess Basmah.
The sculptor was asked by a journalist the reasons behind his choosing HRH Princess Basmah for his artwork as well as why he was attracted by this image.


He was quoted in “Art Gallery News,” 20th February 2013, as saying, “She is a smart, wise woman of earthly beauty, and, at the same time, she is a politician and a human rights activist, who demands for reforms in her country and protects the rights of Arabic women. One cannot help admiring her. With my work I showed my respectful attitude to the Princess.”
Her bust has been made from plaster, but this only marks the beginning of his work. Nikolai Shmatko has decided to create the image of HRH Princess Basmah Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz in white Carrara marble. This is the sculptor’s favourite stone, which will enable the image of HRH Princess Basmah to be created with refinement, tenderness and royalty. The sculpture would like this artwork to act as a reminder that, for many reasons in our lives, we are indebted to the Princess for her admirable humanitarian efforts.


The Artist


Nikolai Shmatko is renowned as being the King of marble and a professor. He was born in Ukraine and uses the country as a base to create his works. Throughout his career as an artist, he has created over 750 monuments and about 500 paintings, without any state or sponsor help. His collection is currently exhibited in the “Shmatko & Sons” gallery. It is described as being unique, displaying 70 sculptures made from Ural and Italian marble including around 300 paintings, pictures and drawings.


Sources:

http://www.kingofmarble-shmatko.com/news_in/news34_en.html

http://www.saatchionline.com/shmatko