.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Effat Naghi was the sister of Alexandrian pioneer Mohammed Naghi, who recognised her exceptional skill as an artist. Coming from an aristocratic family, she was home-schooled in her early years and had the opportunity of travelling to Europe several times with her father as well as accompanying her brother Mohammed to his frequent trips to Upper Egypt, absorbing its Pharaonic art.
The pivotal years that determined her career as an artist were from 1947 to 1950, when she moved to Rome to study fresco and mural painting, with her brother Mohammed who had been appointed Director of the Egyptian Academy in Rome. Following her brother's steps in being committed to create a national art that showcased the daily lives of peasants, whether at work or celebrating folkloric festivals, her early works are impregnated by Fauvism that she re-interpreted in her own way.
Yet Effat Naghi's signature style was truly formed after her long hours spent in Cairo's National Library between 1954 and 1964, discovering Ancient books, absorbing various myths and magical symbols that were soon going to nurture her pictorial vocabulary. In Alexandria, she was fascinated by one particular collection of illustrated books written by a French doctor that dealt with various studies of magic, astrology and mathematical studies mathematics. Effat enriched her artistic language through the many images of mathematical and astrological shapes, as well as illustrations of old war relics and terracotta pieces from the Ancient Civilisations, found in those books. She soon started her own personal collection of magical folk artifacts and archeological relics that created a gateway into the depths of Ancient Egyptian cultural heritage.
From the 1960s onwards, her works are recognisable through their outstanding creativity and striking vitality rendered by a prominent symbolic and magical dimension, sometimes heightened by vibrant colours, rich textured surfaces composed of different media and the use of objects. Les formes mecaniques, coming directly from the artist's family, was executed in 1966 at the peak of Effat Naghi's meticulous research and shortly after being invited by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture to visit the building site of the Aswan Dam. This ambitious project, that had been initiated after the 1952 Revolution, caused flooding and relocation of villages in Lower Egypt to Sudan. Along with the construction site's harsh labour conditions, these events inspired the works of several Egyptian artists. Les formes mecaniques refers to Effat Naghi's impressions collected from her visit of the Aswan Dam. She focused on the mechanical and geometrical aspect of the composition, translating the overwhelming scaffolding of the construction site. She reduced her palette of colours in order to draw the viewer's attention to the beautiful yet threatening energy emerging from her painting's complex structure. Naghi's works usually reflect her belief in the power of civilisation and human achievements, but the absence of colour seems to suggest the artist's critique of modern industrialisation.
It is undeniable that Mohammed Naghi strongly impacted his sister's artistic career, yet her husband, the renowned art professor and artist Saad El-Khadem, played a crucial role for her artistic development. His writings and understanding of contemporary art, combined with his extensive knowledge and fascination with Egyptian folk art, provided a fertile ground for his wife's visual vocabulary. After Naghi's brother and husband both passed away, she was determined to preserve their legacy as well as promoting their art and artistic stands. Like Mahmoud Sad, Mahmoud Mokhtar and Mohammed Naghi, Effat Naghi and Saad El-Khadem have their dedicated museum in Heliopolis, Cairo.
The pivotal years that determined her career as an artist were from 1947 to 1950, when she moved to Rome to study fresco and mural painting, with her brother Mohammed who had been appointed Director of the Egyptian Academy in Rome. Following her brother's steps in being committed to create a national art that showcased the daily lives of peasants, whether at work or celebrating folkloric festivals, her early works are impregnated by Fauvism that she re-interpreted in her own way.
Yet Effat Naghi's signature style was truly formed after her long hours spent in Cairo's National Library between 1954 and 1964, discovering Ancient books, absorbing various myths and magical symbols that were soon going to nurture her pictorial vocabulary. In Alexandria, she was fascinated by one particular collection of illustrated books written by a French doctor that dealt with various studies of magic, astrology and mathematical studies mathematics. Effat enriched her artistic language through the many images of mathematical and astrological shapes, as well as illustrations of old war relics and terracotta pieces from the Ancient Civilisations, found in those books. She soon started her own personal collection of magical folk artifacts and archeological relics that created a gateway into the depths of Ancient Egyptian cultural heritage.
From the 1960s onwards, her works are recognisable through their outstanding creativity and striking vitality rendered by a prominent symbolic and magical dimension, sometimes heightened by vibrant colours, rich textured surfaces composed of different media and the use of objects. Les formes mecaniques, coming directly from the artist's family, was executed in 1966 at the peak of Effat Naghi's meticulous research and shortly after being invited by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture to visit the building site of the Aswan Dam. This ambitious project, that had been initiated after the 1952 Revolution, caused flooding and relocation of villages in Lower Egypt to Sudan. Along with the construction site's harsh labour conditions, these events inspired the works of several Egyptian artists. Les formes mecaniques refers to Effat Naghi's impressions collected from her visit of the Aswan Dam. She focused on the mechanical and geometrical aspect of the composition, translating the overwhelming scaffolding of the construction site. She reduced her palette of colours in order to draw the viewer's attention to the beautiful yet threatening energy emerging from her painting's complex structure. Naghi's works usually reflect her belief in the power of civilisation and human achievements, but the absence of colour seems to suggest the artist's critique of modern industrialisation.
It is undeniable that Mohammed Naghi strongly impacted his sister's artistic career, yet her husband, the renowned art professor and artist Saad El-Khadem, played a crucial role for her artistic development. His writings and understanding of contemporary art, combined with his extensive knowledge and fascination with Egyptian folk art, provided a fertile ground for his wife's visual vocabulary. After Naghi's brother and husband both passed away, she was determined to preserve their legacy as well as promoting their art and artistic stands. Like Mahmoud Sad, Mahmoud Mokhtar and Mohammed Naghi, Effat Naghi and Saad El-Khadem have their dedicated museum in Heliopolis, Cairo.