FEATURES ARCHIVE

We unveil the work of Egypt’s most celebrated artists of the 20th century this month with a selection of 25 masterpieces from the Collection of Dr. Mohammed Said Farsi. Having served as Mayor and Lord Mayor of Jeddah in the 1970s and 1980s, Dr. Farsi’s many accomplishments include overseeing the installation of sculptures by internationally acclaimed masters including Joan Miró, Henry Moore, Salah Abdulkarim and Aref El-Rayess, making the city one of the largest open-air galleries in the world. The passion and dedication Dr. Farsi brought to his work in Jeddah are precisely the traits that distinguish his outstanding collection of Modern Egyptian Art.

A departure from the norms of the European-style academic art prevalent at the time, the work of these modern masters demonstrates a strong Egyptian character – one that mines the depth of Egypt’s ancient cultural heritage for inspiration. From the Ottoman-era buildings and monuments of Cairo to African primitive art and Nubian folk art, these artists have looked to the past to fuel their artistic innovations. In combining the indigenous stories, symbols and iconography from history with an innovative stylistic approach, their works form a critical bridge between tradition and modernity.