ArtDayME - Ali Al-Mussa, son of pioneering Saudi artist Abdulsattar Al-Mussa, discovered a previously unseen oil painting by his late father this summer. The work depicts a woman washing another woman’s feet and is believed to date to 1979. Ali thinks it may be the original work behind his father’s later series “Al-Ars fe Al-Rafae,” which focused on everyday life in Saudi Arabia.

The painting was created in Moscow, where Al-Mussa spent much of his life and met his wife. His mother remembers seeing him work on the painting, but it later disappeared and was never seen again by the family. It remains unclear whether the artist intentionally kept it hidden.

The newly discovered work is one of Al-Mussa’s earliest paintings from his years studying for a master’s degree in fine art at Moscow University, where he graduated with distinction in 1982. The family has very few works from this period.

Many of Al-Mussa’s best-known works are in black and white, depicting fishermen, women preparing for weddings, people singing and dancing, and everyday scenes such as smoking the argileh or serving coffee. His son says the artist successfully translated his emotions and memories onto canvas, preserving a period of Saudi life.

The painting is currently stored at the family home. Ali hopes it will eventually be displayed in a museum so that people can see and enjoy it.