User:Lamiy23/Mahmoud Mokhtar

Mahmoud Mokhtar Ibrahim Al-Issawi, (Arabic: محمود مختار) (May 10, 1891 - March 27, 1934) known as Mahmoud Mokhtar or "El-Omdah", was an Egyptian sculptor who lived during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 and through it created history. Despite his early death, he greatly impacted the realization and formation of contemporary Egyptian art. Because of his revolutionary work, his work was collected and put into a museum, Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum in El-Tahrir, Zamalek in Cairo. His work is credited with signaling the beginning of the Egyptian modernist movement, and he is often referred to as the father of modern Egyptian sculpture. To this day he is a studied artist and is remembered for his most famous piece: "Nahdet Misr" (Egyptian Renaissance).

Mahmoud Mukhtar
Mahmoud Mukhtar's Egypt's Renaissance 1919–1928, Cairo University Gate
personal information
date of birth	May 10, 1891
Death	March 28, 1934 (42 years old) Cairo
Citizenship	Egypt
practical life
Occupation	Sculptor
Languages	Arabic, French
Employment	Sculpture
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mahmoud_Mokhtar

Biography

Early Life

Mahmoud Mokhtar was born on May 10, 1891 in Tonbara, Egypt, near El-Gharbia. His family were farmers (fellaheen), and his father, Ibrahim el-Essaoui, was the mayor (omdeh) of the village. When he was still young, around 1900, his family moved to a village near "El-Mansoura" called "Nasha" where he grew up and went to school while working in the farm lands. During that time, he nurtured his talents by playing near the Nile River and creating small shaped forms from the Niles' mud.

Two years later, in 1902, he moved again, from "Nasha" to Cairo, with his mother and sisters, Hafeethah and Badee'a, and resided in "Darb El-Gamameez". He continued his schooling there and learned Arabic and French. While living there, he also experienced the Islamic Architecture in during his time there which nurtured his artistic nature.

Death

Mahmoud Mukhtar is interred in the basement of the Mukhtar Museum in Cairo.

Education

On May 13, 1908, Prince Youssef Kamal opened the University of Fine Art (École Égyptienne des Beaux-Arts) in Darb El-Gamameez and Mokhtar joined at the age of 17 years old. Mokhtar was the first student to join the University and grew in knowledge and talent of the arts. After graduating in 1912, he travelled to Paris to continue his studies by gaining a Scholarship from Prince Youssef Kamal and the recommendation of his French Professor La Plani.

In Paris, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris (École des Beaux-Arts). He also enrolled as a student in the studio of the French Sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan. There, his deep interest in the ancient Egyptian- Pharaonic civilization grew and was incorporated in many of his arts. During the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), he contributed by working in ammunition factories for 10 hours in Paris and worked at the Griffan Museum as a technical manager.

Artworks

Statue of the Egyptian Renaissance (Nahdet Misr)

After World War I, Egypt was in the midst of its first revolution against the British occupation in 1919. Mokhtar was inspired by it and sculpted the first model of the very famous sculpture: "Nahdet Misr" (Egyptian Renaissance). The sample sculpture was displayed in the Salon des Artistes Français in 1920 and was admired by Saad Pasha Zaghloul. The piece won a gold medal at the Grand-Palais. "Nahdet Misr" illustrates the Sphinx of Giza and an Egyptian farmer woman (fellaha) with her face unveiled during a time where the middle class women in Egypt walked around veiled. This art piece is made from Aswan granite, which is the same stone which the Egyptian sculptors used in the Pharaonic times. The sample sculpture turned into a national monument for Egyptians representing the ancient history of Egypt and the pride of the future Egyptian generations. It was initially installed in Bab Al-Hadid Square on May 20, 1928, but was later moved near Cairo University in front of Giza Zoo to make room for the statue of Ramses II.

Most Important Artwork

M	Name of the statue	Date of work
1	Egypt's Renaissance	1920
2	Native	unknown
3	Sorrow	unknown
4	Girl of the waterfall	unknown
5	The wife of the sheikh of the country	unknown
6	Saad Zaghloul	unknown
7	Field keeper	unknown
8	Tractor holders	unknown
9	Agriculture	unknown
10	Towards the Nile River	unknown
11	The winds of the fifth	unknown
12	Keeper of secrets	unknown
13	Bride of the Nile	1929

Exhibitions

Year(s)	Month(s)	Exhibition Name	Location	Country
1913	unknown	Annual Exhibition of French Artists	Salon, Paris	France
1920	unknown	French Artist Exhibition	Paris	France
1929	unknown	Exhibition at the Paris Salon	Salon, Paris	France
1930	March	Private Exihibtion	Galerie Bernheim-Jeune, Paris	France
2005	unknown	The First Sculpture Salon for Noble Materials	The Palace of Arts	Egypt
2008	unknown	Museum of Modern Egyptian Art	Al-Bab Hall	Egypt
2008	unknown	Centenary Exhibition	Opera House, Cario	Egypt
2009	November	Panorama of Egyptian Sculpture	Zamalek Art Hall	Egypt
2010	January	Keys to Creativity	Main lobby of Prince Amr Ibrahim Palace	Egypt
2010- 2011	December- October	Sajil: A Century of Modern Art	Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha	Qatar
2012	March- July	The Exposed Body	Arab World Institute, Paris	France
2012-2013	November -March	Nefertiti If She Speaks: The Artwork, Its Meanings and Objectives from the Perspective of the Artist, the Museum, and Society	Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha	Qatar
2013	March	Cario Salon of Fine Arts	Palace of Arts	Egypt
2014	unknown	Part One Exhibition- Permanent Collection	Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha	Qatar
2015	February	Exhibition from the Nile to the Two Holy	Jeddah Art Atelier	Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
2015	unknown	Winter Exhibition	Cairo Aterlier	Egypt
2019	November	Selections Exhibitions	Ibdaa Gallery in Zamalek	Egypt
2019	October	From Mukhtar to Attraction	Art Talks Gallery in Zamalek	Egypt
2022	December	From Mukhtar to Attraction	Art Talks Gallery in Zamalek	Egypt
2023	February	Art at the Opera House	Opera House, Cario	Egypt
2023	December	Gallery of Creativity	Sheikh Zayed	Egypt

Awards and Honors

Year	Award	Country
1920	Honorable Mention	France
1925	Paris Salon Award	France
1929	Gold Medal of the Annual Exhibition	France

Mukhtar Museum

Despite his short life, Mukhtar made an great impact on the The Mukhtar Museum was opened on July 24, 1962.

References

1. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mahmoud_Mokhtar May 13, 2024. (introduction chart)
2. https://www.fineart.gov.eg/arb/CV/CV.asp?IDS=1828 (Exhibition Chart)
3. https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/2837187
4. https://www.fineart.gov.eg/default.aspx?Pagek=3&ID=4 (Mukhtar Museum Information)