MOHAMMAD NAGHI (EGYPTIAN 1888-1956)
ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS III pastel on paper 23 x 15.5cm; 9 x 6in 39.5 x 29cm; 15 1/2 x 11 1/2in (framed) Property from a Private Collection, London Provenance Collection of Dr Mohammed Said Farsi Thence by descent to the present owner Mohammad Naghi, born in Alexandria, is famous for establishing the standard for a renaissance in Egyptian modern art as a member of Egypt's first generation artists, also known as Al-Ruwwad. After graduating in law at the University of Lyon in France in 1910, Naghi studied art at the Academy of Florence until 1914. This classical European training in Italy and his elite background (as he was born to a well-connected family), along with political developments in Egypt, shaped much of his art and fashioned his role as a diplomat and cultural educator. His works combine ancient Egyptian influences with his characteristically delicate style. Naghi had a tendency towards Impressionist art and its use of colour. While he was living in France following the First World War, he became acquainted with the work of Claude Monet, which he adapted to capture his native scenes in Egypt. Following the 1919 Egyptian revolution, his work turned towards using ancient Egyptian iconography and creating art based on folklore and Egyptian cultural heritage. Naghi's works combined ancient Egyptian influences with his delicate characteristic style, creating a 'neo-pharonic style', which reformulated ancient Egyptian imagery using Western formulas of representation. Throughout the interwar years, Naghi served as a diplomat and cultural attaché for Egypt, traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Prague, Adis Ababa, Rome, and most notably Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia in the early 1930s, he produced his most prolific body of work, known as his 'Abyssinian period', which featured figurative paintings of daily life in an expressive style using bright, warm colours. Naghi served as the head of the School of Fine Arts in Cairo from 1937 to 1939, where he was the first Egyptian to lead the school since its inception in 1908. While there, he introduced the study of ancient Egyptian art into the school's curriculum. In 1939, he became director of the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, a post which he held until 1947 when he was appointed to the Egyptian Academy in Rome. He served as an Egyptian cultural attaché to Italy until 1950. In 1952, Naghi established and directed the Cairo Atelier art gallery. In 1955, Naghi went to Cyprus to paint Archbishop Makarios III (subject of the present lot), leader of the island's revolution against the British colonial establishment. Naghi finished his career in Cairo, where he set up his villa studio near the Pyramids, where he lived until his death in 1956.ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS III pastel on paper 23 x 15.5cm; 9 x 6in 39.5 x 29cm; 15 1/2 x 11 1/2in (framed) Property from a Private Collection, London Provenance Collection of Dr Mohammed Said Farsi Thence by descent to the present owner Mohammad Naghi, born in Alexandria, is famous for establishing the standard for a renaissance in Egyptian modern art as a member of Egypt's first generation artists, also known as Al-Ruwwad. After graduating in law at the University of Lyon in France in 1910, Naghi studied art at the Academy of Florence until 1914. This classical European training in Italy and his elite background (as he was born to a well-connected family), along with political developments in Egypt, shaped much of his art and fashioned his role as a diplomat and cultural educator. His works combine ancient Egyptian influences with his characteristically delicate style. Naghi had a tendency towards Impressionist art and its use of colour. While he was living in France following the First World War, he became acquainted with the work of Claude Monet, which he adapted to capture his native scenes in Egypt. Following the 1919 Egyptian revolution, his work turned towards using ancient Egyptian iconography and creating art based on folklore and Egyptian cultural heritage. Naghi's works combined ancient Egyptian influences with his delicate characteristic style, creating a 'neo-pharonic style', which reformulated ancient Egyptian imagery using Western formulas of representation. Throughout the interwar years, Naghi served as a diplomat and cultural attaché for Egypt, traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Prague, Adis Ababa, Rome, and most notably Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia in the early 1930s, he produced his most prolific body of work, known as his 'Abyssinian period', which featured figurative paintings of daily life in an expressive style using bright, warm colours. Naghi served as the head of the School of Fine Arts in Cairo from 1937 to 1939, where he was the first Egyptian to lead the school since its inception in 1908. While there, he introduced the study of ancient Egyptian art into the school's curriculum. In 1939, he became director of the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, a post which he held until 1947 when he was appointed to the Egyptian Academy in Rome. He served as an Egyptian cultural attaché to Italy until 1950. In 1952, Naghi established and directed the Cairo Atelier art gallery. In 1955, Naghi went to Cyprus to paint Archbishop Makarios III (subject of the present lot), leader of the island's revolution against the British colonial establishment. Naghi finished his career in Cairo, where he set up his villa studio near the Pyramids, where he lived until his death in 1956.
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ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS III pastel on paper 23 x 15.5cm; 9 x 6in 39.5 x 29cm; 15 1/2 x 11 1/2in (framed) Property from a Private Collection, London Provenance Collection of Dr Mohammed Said Farsi Thence by descent to the present owner Mohammad Naghi, born in Alexandria, is famous for establishing the standard for a renaissance in Egyptian modern art as a member of Egypt's first generation artists, also known as Al-Ruwwad. After graduating in law at the University of Lyon in France in 1910, Naghi studied art at the Academy of Florence until 1914. This classical European training in Italy and his elite background (as he was born to a well-connected family), along with political developments in Egypt, shaped much of his art and fashioned his role as a diplomat and cultural educator. His works combine ancient Egyptian influences with his characteristically delicate style. Naghi had a tendency towards Impressionist art and its use of colour. While he was living in France following the First World War, he became acquainted with the work of Claude Monet, which he adapted to capture his native scenes in Egypt. Following the 1919 Egyptian revolution, his work turned towards using ancient Egyptian iconography and creating art based on folklore and Egyptian cultural heritage. Naghi's works combined ancient Egyptian influences with his delicate characteristic style, creating a 'neo-pharonic style', which reformulated ancient Egyptian imagery using Western formulas of representation. Throughout the interwar years, Naghi served as a diplomat and cultural attaché for Egypt, traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Prague, Adis Ababa, Rome, and most notably Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia in the early 1930s, he produced his most prolific body of work, known as his 'Abyssinian period', which featured figurative paintings of daily life in an expressive style using bright, warm colours. Naghi served as the head of the School of Fine Arts in Cairo from 1937 to 1939, where he was the first Egyptian to lead the school since its inception in 1908. While there, he introduced the study of ancient Egyptian art into the school's curriculum. In 1939, he became director of the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, a post which he held until 1947 when he was appointed to the Egyptian Academy in Rome. He served as an Egyptian cultural attaché to Italy until 1950. In 1952, Naghi established and directed the Cairo Atelier art gallery. In 1955, Naghi went to Cyprus to paint Archbishop Makarios III (subject of the present lot), leader of the island's revolution against the British colonial establishment. Naghi finished his career in Cairo, where he set up his villa studio near the Pyramids, where he lived until his death in 1956.ARCHBISHOP MAKARIOS III pastel on paper 23 x 15.5cm; 9 x 6in 39.5 x 29cm; 15 1/2 x 11 1/2in (framed) Property from a Private Collection, London Provenance Collection of Dr Mohammed Said Farsi Thence by descent to the present owner Mohammad Naghi, born in Alexandria, is famous for establishing the standard for a renaissance in Egyptian modern art as a member of Egypt's first generation artists, also known as Al-Ruwwad. After graduating in law at the University of Lyon in France in 1910, Naghi studied art at the Academy of Florence until 1914. This classical European training in Italy and his elite background (as he was born to a well-connected family), along with political developments in Egypt, shaped much of his art and fashioned his role as a diplomat and cultural educator. His works combine ancient Egyptian influences with his characteristically delicate style. Naghi had a tendency towards Impressionist art and its use of colour. While he was living in France following the First World War, he became acquainted with the work of Claude Monet, which he adapted to capture his native scenes in Egypt. Following the 1919 Egyptian revolution, his work turned towards using ancient Egyptian iconography and creating art based on folklore and Egyptian cultural heritage. Naghi's works combined ancient Egyptian influences with his delicate characteristic style, creating a 'neo-pharonic style', which reformulated ancient Egyptian imagery using Western formulas of representation. Throughout the interwar years, Naghi served as a diplomat and cultural attaché for Egypt, traveling to Rio de Janeiro, Paris, Prague, Adis Ababa, Rome, and most notably Ethiopia. While in Ethiopia in the early 1930s, he produced his most prolific body of work, known as his 'Abyssinian period', which featured figurative paintings of daily life in an expressive style using bright, warm colours. Naghi served as the head of the School of Fine Arts in Cairo from 1937 to 1939, where he was the first Egyptian to lead the school since its inception in 1908. While there, he introduced the study of ancient Egyptian art into the school's curriculum. In 1939, he became director of the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art, a post which he held until 1947 when he was appointed to the Egyptian Academy in Rome. He served as an Egyptian cultural attaché to Italy until 1950. In 1952, Naghi established and directed the Cairo Atelier art gallery. In 1955, Naghi went to Cyprus to paint Archbishop Makarios III (subject of the present lot), leader of the island's revolution against the British colonial establishment. Naghi finished his career in Cairo, where he set up his villa studio near the Pyramids, where he lived until his death in 1956.
Please contact us to request a condition report.
