An oil on board painting titled The Flight by Yusuf Grillo, one of Nigeria’s foremost artists sold for £62,500 (US$ 82,213) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams Auctions
BY SEAN LEYWES
LONDON- The Flight, oil on board by Yusuf Adebayo Cameron Grillo was sold in 2014 at Bonhams Auctions African Now sale. The painting is an important example of the artist’s work. A major influence for Grillo’s works is Nigerian landscapes and the Yoruba people. His painting reveals the experiences of the people around him.
The Flight depicts a young family in native Yoruba dress, seated on a bicycle. While the man pedals the bicycle, the woman sitting on the bicycle bar gingerly cradles a baby.
Grillo started the painting during the Civil War, a painful period in Nigeria’s history. There was so much killing and maiming during the war. That war inspired The Flight.
The sight of people rushing to escape the Nigerian Civil War was in Grillo’s psych. He likened the forced migration to the flight of the Holy Family from Israel to Egypt. To emphasize that relationship, Grillo included a saw with the couple’s baggage. The saw is a symbol of Joseph’s profession as a carpenter
Done in the scheme of blue, The Flight was done in the style the artist is now well-known for. The elongated figures of the man and woman enhance the urgency to ride away as fast as possible. It brings forth their humanity. Grillo’s deviation from photographic realism rekindles his devotion to the notion of African aesthetics.
About Yusuf Grillo
Yusuf Grillo is one of the most influential Nigerian artists. Born in 1934 in the Brazilian Quarter of Lagos, he studied art at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. After his study in Nigeria, he traveled to the United Kingdom to further his studies.
An artist dedicated to the education of the younger generation, Professor Grillo as he is fondly called, went on to become the Head of Art and Printing at Yaba College of Technology. He retained in that post for over twenty-five years.
While at the head of the Yaba art school, Grillo was also practicing as an artist. He did some important work and received many commissions. His mosaics and stained glass now adorn many churches, universities, and government buildings across Nigeria. About five years ago Professor Grillo won a commission for the Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
In 1958, Grillo with other students at the Ahamadu Bello University, founded the Zaria School. Set up a year before Nigeria’s independence, the group’s mission was to protest the teaching of dominantly Western artistic traditions at the school. The group advocated for a ‘national style’, an aesthetic that combines Western artistic traditions with African traditions. For their success in fostering a change, the group became known as the Zaria Rebels.
