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Description
The name of this beautiful African girl is not Jameela (jah-mee-laa) but Habiba, an Arabic name popular in North Africa, which means "beloved." The word jameela means 'beautiful' in Swahili. It is a loanword from Arabic with the same meaning. A handsome man is known as jamil or jameel, while a beautiful woman is jamila or jameela. I have given the name Jameela to this painting, alluding to the extraordinary beauty of this little girl.

I made this painting from a photograph given to me by a Spanish Christian missionary I have known for more than 20 years, who knows my preference for painting portraits, and who was in Melilla in 2021. The beauty of this girl attracted his attention, and he wanted to give me the picture as a gift.

Description
The name of this beautiful African girl is not Jameela (jah-mee-laa) but Habiba, an Arabic name popular in North Africa, which means "beloved." The word jameela means 'beautiful' in Swahili. It is a loanword from Arabic with the same meaning. A handsome man is known as jamil or jameel, while a beautiful woman is jamila or jameela. I have given the name Jameela to this painting, alluding to the extraordinary beauty of this little girl.

I made this painting from a photograph given to me by a Spanish Christian missionary I have known for more than 20 years, who knows my preference for painting portraits, and who was in Melilla in 2021. The beauty of this girl attracted his attention, and he wanted to give me the picture as a gift.