Page 227 - Features of an Era
P. 227
earch gaps existed in several writings, which went unnoticed, mostly articles on
the creation of the statues of Tahrir and Abdeen Squares. The writers neither did
search nor turned to the original historical sources; they rather relied on unverified
information, which resulted in the confusion between the facts of the creation of
these two statues, and other statues of Khedive Isma’il and King Fouad.
This confusion caused the infringement of the moral rights of two of the third
generation’s most skillful Egyptian sculptors: Mustafa Naguib (1990-1913) and
Mustafa Metwally (1988-1911), the lack of documentation of their historical roles
in the implementation of this project, and even more gravely, the attribution of this
project to some Italian artists.
The failure to recognize the historical roles of these two Egyptian sculptors in the
construction of these public statues is one of the clearest examples of the negligence
of documentation having an adverse effect on the history of the modern Egyptian art.
The story of these two statues actually started in late 1949, when the Royal Palace
announced a major artistic competition among Egypt’s sculptors for the designs of
three colossal public statues. Two statues of King Fouad; one showing him in the
academic attire was to be erected in King Fouad University Square (presently Cairo
University Square) and the other statue in Abdeen Square, and the third one was
made for Khedive Isma’il to be held in Isma’ilia Square (currently Tahrir Square).
As evidenced by what was published in Al-Mussawar magazine on March 17th,
1950, a jury was set up in February of that year to judge this big competition and
select the winning sculptors. The jury members were Ali Farid Bey, director of the
Department of Public Buildings of the Ministry of Public Works at that time, architect
Mustafa Fahmy Pasha, supervisor of Fine Arts, head of the Higher School of Fine Arts,
architect Muhammad Rifaat Bey, Ali Hafez Bey, director of Municipalities, director of
the Department of Buildings, and director of the Department of Organization.
For the statue of King Fouad of Abdeen Square, the jury awarded the first prize to
Mustafa Naguib, and the second prize went to Fathy Mahmoud. The third prize was
equally awarded to Ibrahim Gabr (1972-1902), Ahmed Othman (1970-1907) and
Muhammad Laeeq.
As for both the statue of King Fouad of the University Square and statue of Khedive
Isma’il, the jury thought none of the submitted works was good enough to win,
launching a new competition.
However, the consideration of more sources shows that the idea of the statue of
Khedive Isma’il preceded the official announcement of the competition by nearly
four years. Marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Khedive Isma’il, a statue was
to be erected in Khedive Isma’il Square (later Tahrir Square) according to the National
Archives of Egypt that preserves the original correspondence of the Royal Palace.
These letters were dated from February 28th, 1945 to March 12th, 1946 are one of the
files of the Council of Ministers’ documents preserved in the National Library and
Archives with provenance number 2/35-72 and the archive code 031905-0081.
227
the creation of the statues of Tahrir and Abdeen Squares. The writers neither did
search nor turned to the original historical sources; they rather relied on unverified
information, which resulted in the confusion between the facts of the creation of
these two statues, and other statues of Khedive Isma’il and King Fouad.
This confusion caused the infringement of the moral rights of two of the third
generation’s most skillful Egyptian sculptors: Mustafa Naguib (1990-1913) and
Mustafa Metwally (1988-1911), the lack of documentation of their historical roles
in the implementation of this project, and even more gravely, the attribution of this
project to some Italian artists.
The failure to recognize the historical roles of these two Egyptian sculptors in the
construction of these public statues is one of the clearest examples of the negligence
of documentation having an adverse effect on the history of the modern Egyptian art.
The story of these two statues actually started in late 1949, when the Royal Palace
announced a major artistic competition among Egypt’s sculptors for the designs of
three colossal public statues. Two statues of King Fouad; one showing him in the
academic attire was to be erected in King Fouad University Square (presently Cairo
University Square) and the other statue in Abdeen Square, and the third one was
made for Khedive Isma’il to be held in Isma’ilia Square (currently Tahrir Square).
As evidenced by what was published in Al-Mussawar magazine on March 17th,
1950, a jury was set up in February of that year to judge this big competition and
select the winning sculptors. The jury members were Ali Farid Bey, director of the
Department of Public Buildings of the Ministry of Public Works at that time, architect
Mustafa Fahmy Pasha, supervisor of Fine Arts, head of the Higher School of Fine Arts,
architect Muhammad Rifaat Bey, Ali Hafez Bey, director of Municipalities, director of
the Department of Buildings, and director of the Department of Organization.
For the statue of King Fouad of Abdeen Square, the jury awarded the first prize to
Mustafa Naguib, and the second prize went to Fathy Mahmoud. The third prize was
equally awarded to Ibrahim Gabr (1972-1902), Ahmed Othman (1970-1907) and
Muhammad Laeeq.
As for both the statue of King Fouad of the University Square and statue of Khedive
Isma’il, the jury thought none of the submitted works was good enough to win,
launching a new competition.
However, the consideration of more sources shows that the idea of the statue of
Khedive Isma’il preceded the official announcement of the competition by nearly
four years. Marking the fifth anniversary of the death of Khedive Isma’il, a statue was
to be erected in Khedive Isma’il Square (later Tahrir Square) according to the National
Archives of Egypt that preserves the original correspondence of the Royal Palace.
These letters were dated from February 28th, 1945 to March 12th, 1946 are one of the
files of the Council of Ministers’ documents preserved in the National Library and
Archives with provenance number 2/35-72 and the archive code 031905-0081.
227
