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Modern Art in Egypt
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Fatenn Mostafa Kanafani is a lecturer and art historian whose research focuses on twentieth-century Egyptian
modernism. She is the founder of ArtTalks | Egypt, a Cairo-based interdisciplinary art space dedicated to the
management of Egyptian artists’ estates and geared towards individuals and institutions committed to the
acquisition of modern Egyptian artists and the field of Egyptian art history. She has published in journals such
as Mada Masr, al-Ahram, and Rawi.
Ms Kanafani has contributed with a chapter to the first catalogue raisonné for a Middle Eastern artist,
Egyptian modernist painter Mahmoud Saïd (Skira, 2016). She was one amongst thirty-eight selected Egyptian
living female achievers to contribute to the publication of Daughters of the Nile: Egyptian Women Changing
Their World (Cambridge Scholars, 2016) and was featured in Five Scenes in the Contemporary African Art
world, a chapter dedicated to five influential metropolitan cities in Africa, in Africa Rising: Fashion, Design and
Lifestyle from Africa (Gestalten, 2016).
Born in Cairo and raised in Europe, Ms Kanafani graduated with a BA in Economics from Webster University
in Vienna, Austria. She built a distinguished career, spanning over fifteen years of international corporate
management, first with Procter & Gamble in Austria and PepsiCo in Egypt, then serving as CEO and board
member of Gianaclis Vineyards for Beverages and as senior member of the Executive Committee of Al-Ahram
Beverages Company. She is a dedicated patron to emerging Egyptian artists as well as The Ghassan Kanafani
Children Foundation (GKCF) in Beirut, Lebanon.
Also by the author:
‘Coming Home: Art, Business, and Wine along the Nile’ in Daughters of the Nile: Egyptian Women Changing
their World, ed. Samia I. Spencer (London: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016), pp. 211–222.
‘A Legacy of Dichotomies: When the International Market Met the Oriental Lord’ in Mahmoud Saïd: Catalogue
Raisonné, ed. Valérie Didier Hess, Hussam Rashwan (Milan: Skira Editore, 2016), pp. 196–222.
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Modern Art in Egypt
Identity and Independence, 1850–1936
FATENN MOSTAFA KANAFANI
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I.B. TAURIS
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK
1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA
BLOOMSBURY, I.B. TAURIS and the I.B. Tauris logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain 2020
Copyright © Fatenn Mostafa Kanafani, 2020
Fatenn Mostafa Kanafani has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs
and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.
Cover design: Mahmoud Saïd, Invitation au voyage, 1932. Oil on canvas. 81x60cm.
Cover image: © Collection Amr Moufid Eldib, Alexandria. © Barry Iverson Photography.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc does not have any control over, or responsibility for, any third-party
websites referred to or in this book. All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time
of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have
changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.
ISBN: HB: 978-1-8386-0109-6
ePDF: 978-1-8386-0110-2
eBook: 978-1-8386-0655-8
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A joy for the soul and a pleasure for the senses.
al-Ustadh al-Imam Sheikh Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905)
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Contents
viii List of Illustrations
xiii Notes on Transliteration and Translation
xiv Introduction
1 Part One Reaching for Modernity:
A Multicultural Renaissance
3 Chapter 1
Al-Nahda: The building blocks of a by-product
13 Chapter 2
Egypt as exhibition
25 Chapter 3
Art and Islam
37 Part Two Funun Jamila: A New Social Player
39 Chapter 4
Patrons
67 Chapter 5
The state
83 Chapter 6
The artist
vi
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93 Part Three First-Generation Innovators C
o
n
95 Chapter 7 te
n
t
Georges Sabbagh (1887–1951): The son s
of the Orient
119 Chapter 8
Mohamed Naghi (1888–1956): ‘Naghi d’Alexandrie’
145 Chapter 9
Mahmoud Mokhtar (1891–1934): The hyphen between
ancient and modern
173 Chapter 10
Raghed Ayad (1892–1982): Godfather
of the Egyptian gaze
191 Chapter 11
Mahmoud Saïd (1897–1964): In search
of a ‘happy island’
219 Chapter 12
Marguerite Nakhla (1908–1977): Life as it
should be
237 Conclusion
Decoding 1930s Egypt: The seeds of the Naksa
250 Historical Timeline from 1850–1935
260 Notes
281 Bibliography
292 Index
vii
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List of Illustrations
0.1 Christie’s auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen with Mahmoud Saïd’s The Whirling Dervishes. Sold
$2,546,500 USD during the October 2010 International Modern and Contemporary Art sale
at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel in Dubai, UAE. © 2010 Karl Jeffs, Gecko Media. xv
1.1 Students of the 1826 and 1844 Egyptian missions sent to study in Paris under Muhammad
Ali Pasha. Kol-Shei, no. 131, 14 May 1928. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 6
1.2 Portrait of Rifa’a al-Tahtawi (1801-73), Islamic reformist and a defining figure of al-Nahda
movement by Egyptian painter Salah Taher. Oil on canvas. Dimensions not available.
© Al-Ahram Foundation Collection. Credit Emad Abdel Hady and Maher Daoud. 6
1.3 Meeting of the Maccabi of Cairo, a group of 1200 Egyptian Jews, gathering at the Cecil Hotel
against Nazi rise in Europe. Images, no. 193, 27 May 1933. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 9
1.4 Le journal d’Abou Naddara by the Egyptian Jewish nationalist Ya’cub (James) Sanua.
L’Illustration, no. 2038, 18 March 1882. 11
2.1 Louis Charles Auguste Couder (1789-1873), Méhémet-Ali, Vice-roi d’Égypte, 1841. Oil on
canvas. 76x93 cm. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais (Musèe national du Château de Versailles)-
Gérard Blot. 17
2.2 Portrait of Onofrio Abbate Pasha (1822–1915), physician, scholar and the head of the
Cercle Artistique, 1899. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 21
2.3 Slatin Pasha (Sir Rudolf Carl Slatin), 1896, portrait of the Anglo-Austrian governor of
Darfur by painter Selim Effendi Haddad, winner of the Grand Prize of the Sixth Painting
Exhibition in 1896. Oil painting, 65x54 cm. This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, Wellcome Collection. 23
3.1 Islamic reformist Imam Sheikh Muhammad Abduh (1849-1905) in 1901. L’Égyptienne,
Oct-Nov, 1926. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 27
3.2 Nationalist leader Saad Zaghloul Pacha was extensively featured on the cover of Arabic
and French language magazines. Kol-Shei, no. 145, 20 August 1928. © The F. M. Kanafani
archive. 34
3.3 Key Nahda reformists: From bottom left: Muhammad Ali Pasha, Saad Zaghloul, Khedive
Ismail, Mostafa Kamel Pasha. Second row: Ibrahim Pasha and Sheikh Muhammad Abduh.
Third row: Mohammed Farid, Ali Mubarak, Qasim Amin and Sayyid Jamal al-Din al-
Afghani. Kol-Shei, no. 105, 14 November 1927. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 35
4.1 Prince Youssef Kamal (1882-1967), founder and financier of the Egyptian School of Fine
Arts in Cairo in 1908, photographed during a hunting trip in Africa in 1940. Images, no.
541, 27 January 1940. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 40
4.2 Sculpture of French politician Waldeck-Rosseau by French sculptor Guillaume Laplagne,
the first director of the Egyptian School of Fine Arts, Cairo, 1908-18. Le Rire, no. 390, 26
April 1902. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 41
4.3 Italian painter Camillo Innocenti, third director/dean of the Egyptian School of Fine Arts,
1928-37. Masr el-Haditha el-Mossawara, 6 May 1929. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 44
viii
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4.4 Boris Frodman-Cluzel, Head of Sculpture Department, 1924-33, Egyptian School of Fine L
is
Arts, in his studio on Antikhana Street, Cairo. Images, no. 176, 28 January 1933. © The F. t
M. Kanafani archive. 45 o
f
4.5 (MGaerocrhg e1s9)2 F8o. u©a dT hAeb Fd.e Ml M. Kalaenka,f faonui nadrcehr iovfe t. he5 S1alon du Caire. al-Musawar, no. 177, 2 Illu
s
4.6 King Fouad I at the Inauguration of the Salon du Caire at Palais Tigrane, known as the tr
a
Palais des Arts, with Prince Youssef Kamal, Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil, and a power t
entourage. Images, no. 15, 29 January 1929. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 54 io
n
4.7 Front cover of al-Musawar featuring sculptures by Mahmoud Mokhtar at the first Salon s
La Chimère, no. 125, 4 March 1927. Front cover of Masr el-Hadissa el-Mossawara with
Mahmoud Saïd’s paintings exhibited at the third Salon La Chimère, no. 23, 11 December
1929. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 59
4.8 Members of Jama’at al-Da’ayah al-Fanniyya: Habib Gorgi (middle in front of table),
Youssef Afifi (left behind Gorgi), Shafik Rizk Soliman (right of Gorgi) and Hamed Said (left
of Soliman). Reproduction from Mostafa Razzaz, Modern Egyptian Art in 20th century,
2007, p. 35. 60
4.9 Leading cultural Salonnières Amy Kher, Mai Ziadé and Nelly Vaucher-Zananiri. © The F.
M. Kanafani archive. 63
4.10 Huda Shaarawi, founder, with members of the Egyptian Feminist Union [al-Lagna al-Sa’yyidiya
li-l-Sayiddat]. al-Musawar, no. 21, 13 March 1925. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 64
5.1 Louis Hautecoeur, French-appointed General Director of Fine Arts at Ministry of Public
Instruction, Cairo, 1927-30. Masr el-Hadissa el-Mossawara, 6 May 1929. © The F. M.
Kanafani archive. 70
5.2 Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil with King Farouk (middle) and Ahmed Hassanein Pasha
(left), Chief of the Diwan to the king, during inauguration of the Egyptian Pavilion at the
Exposition des Arts et Techniques in Paris. Images, no. 406, 26 June 1936. © The F. M.
Kanafani archive. 73
5.3 Mohammed Hassan, La Dictature des Beaux-Arts, 1939. Work on paper. Should be at the
Museum of Modern Art, Cairo. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 74
5.4 Expositions! Article in Images by Simplicissimus no. 18, 19 January 1930. © The F. M.
Kanafani archive. 78
5.5 Amy Nimr, Les Noces de Cana, 1924. Oil on canvas. Dimensions unknown. © Museum of
Fine Arts, Alexandria. 81
6.1 Egyptian lawyer and nationalist leader Mostafa Kamel Pasha (1874-1908), dated 1902. al-
Musawar, no. 814, 17 May 1940. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 84
6.2 Rare image of execution of Egyptian peasants condemned to hanging following the Denshawy
incident in 1906. al-Musawar, no. 490, February 1939. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 85
6.3 The German excavation led by Ludwig Borchardt in Tell el-Amarna. Presentation of
Nefertiti bust at the site in 1912. © bpk/Vorderasiatisches Museum, SMB. 87
6.4 Ahmed Sabry, La Religieuse, 1929. Oil on canvas. © Museum of Modern Art, Cairo. 91
7.1 Georges Sabbagh. Images, no. 213, 14 October 1933. © The F. M. Kanafani archive. 95
7.2 Georges Sabbagh, La famille: les Sabbagh à la Clarté, 1920. Oil on canvas. 155x128 cm.
Musée National d’art moderne Paris. © Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI. 101
7.3 Georges Sabbagh, La famille: les Sabbagh à Paris, 1921. Oil on canvas. 163x130 cm. ©
Musée de Grenoble. 102
7.4 Georges Sabbagh, Vénus Anadyomène, 1922. Oil on canvas. 116x89 cm. © Collection
Musée Municipal, Boulogne-Billancourt, France. 104
7.5 Georges Sabbagh, La Vie de l’homme: les Trois Grâces, 1919. Oil on canvas, 161x131
cm. Sold at Loudmer auction house in Paris, Importants tableaux xixème modernes et
contemporains, Lot 160, 25 February 1996. 106
7.6 Georges Sabbagh, Nu féminin en bord de mer, 1934. Oil on canvas. 65x54 cm. © Courtesy
of the F. and H. Kanafani Collection, Cairo. 107
7.7 Georges Sabbagh, Synthèse de Ploumanac’h, 1918-20. Oil on canvas. 125x183 cm. Collection
Musée de l’Oise à Beauvais. Photo © RMN-Grand Palais/Hervé Lewandowski. 109
7.8 Georges Sabbagh, La roche de Ploumanac’h, 1921. Oil on canvas, 125x100 cm. Courtesy of
The Sabbagh Estate. 110
7.9 Georges Sabbagh, Le grand Sphinx de Guizeh, 1920. Oil on canvas, 55x46 cm. Private
collection. 111
7.10 Georges Sabbagh, Le vieux sycomore de la Sainte Famille au Caire, 1921. Oil on canvas.
118x81 cm. Location unknown. 112
7.11 Georges Sabbagh, Les banians du vieux Caire, 1938. Oil on canvas. 60x73 cm. © Courtesy
Bonhams, sold 7 October 2015. Modern and Contemporary Middle Eastern Art, Lot
88. 113
7.12 Georges Sabbagh, La Vierge Marie près du vieux Sycomore au Caire, 1920. Oil on canvas,
67x53 cm. Private collection. 114
ix
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