- Al-Hussein Fawzi (1905-1999), one of the preeminent pioneer artists of the second generation of the Egyptian Contemporary Art Movement. Whence, he participated in depicting the most features of it, after his graduation in 1928, then accomplished his studies in painting, print, and decorations at the Fine Arts Academy in Paris, 1934.
Since then, he resumed his march towards the Egyptian contemporary print arts to play his role by opening new horizons for the generations to come.
- Al-Hussein Fawzi’s works of art distinguished with its objective direction towards traditions of the Egyptian community. Nevertheless, his works never neglected the academic treatments such as focus on details, scope, light and shadow as well as the strong, balanced design in constructing a tableau, in addition to the space –clot relationship and decorations; all interpreted in literary description.
- Otherwise, he maintained to surround himself with particular features, language and individual style. His arts authentication exerted from his research in the heritage; when, in the fifties, produced a set of print artworks marked with specific techniques as well as resembling the Egyptian ethics in form and core.
- Impressed with the ancient Egyptian architecture in Luxor, his works harmonized between clot, space and geometrical analyses.
- Moreover, al-Hussein Fawzi wasn’t only painter and decorator, but also illustrator, when he innovate the radical current of the Egyptian press illustration by introducing many illustrations in magazines of ‘al-Ressala’- ‘Akher Saa’ – ‘Ali Baba’, illustrations of novels by Youssef al-Sebaey, Naguib Mahfouz and others. The most prominent of his illustrations was illustrating ‘Cairo Minarets’, published in two volumes.
- It’s worthy mention that ‘Al-Hussein Fawzi” name has been labeled on one of the art galleries of Gezira Arts Center in Zamalek, as acknowledgment and recognition for his preeminent role in the Egyptian Art Movement.
By / Prof. Dr. Ahmed Nawar.
“Pioneer Graphic Artist in Egypt”
- Artist al-Hussein Fawzi, pioneer of graphic art in Egypt,one of the preeminent pioneer artists of the second generation who established the Egyptian Contemporary Art Movement. Artist al-Hussein Mahmoud Fawzi al-Konssy was born in September 1905, at al-Helmya al-Gadida district in Cairo. He joined the School of Fine Arts in 1922- without his father’s consent- where he learnt drawing and painting secrets. In 1924, he started his work as press illustrator at ‘al-‘Shabab magazine.
- After his graduation in 1926, he participated in a private contest for oil painting, where he won the top golden prize that was a scholarship (for three years) to Paris, as he studied bas-relief, lithograph, in-relief print, painting and decorations at “Fougerat” and Ecole de Estienne Ateliers.
- At the first moment, Fawzi was taken with print art and resumed in using all new techniques on metals, stones, wood, linoleum and others. Then he came back to Egypt to teach all secrets of print art to his students, as the first Egyptian professor of print at the High School of Fine Arts in Cairo, till he became Head of Print Department in 1934. Whereas, many artists learnt under him and followed his way. Among them, artists Abdallah Gohar, Azziz Mustafa, Kamal Ameen, Maher Raef, Abdel-Haleem al-Berginy, Hussein al-Gebally and Ahmed Nawar. Unless he mastered painting traditional style, Fawzi crossed the risk way of unconventional graphic style. For instance his oil painting “al-Dallala” 1940, that considered as the most prominent painting in the Egyptian contemporary art, and his watercolor illustrations of the Cairo minarets that published in two volumes. But his adore to calligraphy- in representing motion, tenderness, violent, happiness and sadness- prevailed upon all sorts of art. Also, his eager to print proved his adore to calligraphy that mainly depends on. Regardless of any obstacles, Fawzi didn’t despaired, he insisted on introducing this art to press, prevalent among the public. Al-Hussein Fawzi, the first Egyptian artist who introduced calligraphy illustrations and depicted stories to press.
- Eventually, Fawzi mastered all threads of the real lines of human forms that submit to realism. Unless in graphic art the next step is not predictable, Fawzi had the foreseen to realize the final shape of experimental forms, never let any thing to chance, he submitted all elements, stripes, space, shadow and light, to his high techniques until he reached the perfection in performance.
- Motivated with his successful production of masterpiece artworks and the unexpected results that enriched the work with more aesthetics, he experienced again and again using new techniques till he reached the tip of success. This success glowed in the epoch of sixties, specially his works of print on linoleum and wood that were exhibited in the exhibition of “Environmental Works in Forty Years”, which organized by the Ministry of Culture in 1965.
- Al-Hussein Fawzi, the instructor father, who keen on teaching his pupils all the knowledge he collected during his journey life, all the experiences of past and present, the secrets of conventional and modern techniques of graphic secrets. He paved the way for the joiner artists till he passed away on Wednesday, July14, 1999, leaving his students to accomplish his infinite artistic experimental legacy.
Critic / Mohammed Hamza. |
