Serial Number: ART0241
Valuation:
BHD 200
Medium:
Oil on canvas
Type:
Portrait
Style:
Realism
Date:
Undated
Size:
40 x 50
Artist:
MUSTAFA HUSSEIN (1935 – 2014)
Hussein was born in 1935 in the Cairo Fatimid district of al-Hussein and attended the Gamaliya Primary School, where the art teacher discovered his gift and asked him to do a number of paintings of the historic neighbourhood of al-Hussein. The young Hussein drew several scenes
which, to his absolute delight, ended up gracing the four walls of the classroom.
It was a turning point; Hussein decided he would pursue studies in the art he loved so much. On graduating from secondary school, he joined the School of Fine Arts in Cairo. In 1952, when still in his first year, he was chosen to work at the venerable publishing house of Dar al-Hilal, where he drew the cover of the weekly magazine Al-Ethnein wal-Dunya (Monday and the World) and where his bold outlines and vivid colours brought alive global concerns. In one cartoon he drew a glove split in two halves, one bearing the US flag and the other that of the Soviet Union—this was during the Cold War.
In 1956 Hussein moved to Al-Missaa’ (The Evening) paper as a cartoonist, and remained there until 1963. The following year he helped found the illustrated magazine Karawan, during which period he also contributed illustrations and cartoons to several prestigious Cairo magazines including the women’s weekly magazie Hawaa’, the children’s weekly Samir, the celebrity gossip magazine al-Kawaakib and the general interest weekly al-Mussawar.
With the recent passing away of Mustafa Hussein, Egypt lost the top caricaturist not only in Egypt but also in the Arab world.
Hussein’s prolific work testified to his times and documented the changes that occurred throughout. With cartoons as his vehicle to criticism of social, political, and cultural issues, Hussein excelled at highlighting people’s problems and concerns. He combined artistic creativity with an elegant sense of humour, thrilling his admirers and winning over his critics.
Status: Display
Description:
This portrait was done by an Egyptian painter named M. Hussein, an oil on canvas painting.
