User:Lamiy23/Mahmoud Mokhtar

Mahmoud Mokhtar Ibrahim Al-Issawi, (Arabic: محمود مختار) (May 10, 1891 - March 27, 1934) known as Mahmoud Mokhtar or "El-Omdah", was an Egyptian sculptor who lived during the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 and through it created history. Despite his early death, he greatly impacted the realization and formation of contemporary Egyptian art. Because of his revolutionary work, his work was collected and put into a museum, Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum in El-Tahrir, Zamalek in Cairo. His work is credited with signaling the beginning of the Egyptian modernist movement, and he is often referred to as the father of modern Egyptian sculpture. To this day he is a studied artist and is remembered for his most famous piece: "Nahdet Misr" (Egyptian Renaissance).

Early Life
Mahmoud Mokhtar was born on May 10, 1891 in Tonbara, Egypt, near El-Gharbia. His family were farmers (fellaheen), and his father, Ibrahim el-Essaoui, was the mayor (omdeh) of the village. When he was still young, around 1900, his family moved to a village near "El-Mansoura" called "Nasha" where he grew up and went to school while working in the farm lands. During that time, he nurtured his talents by playing near the Nile River and creating small shaped forms from the Niles' mud.

Two years later, in 1902, he moved again, from "Nasha" to Cairo, with his mother and sisters, Hafeethah and Badee'a, and resided in "Darb El-Gamameez". He continued his schooling there and learned Arabic and French. While living there, he also experienced the Islamic Architecture in during his time there which nurtured his artistic nature.

Death
Mahmoud Mukhtar is interred in the basement of the Mukhtar Museum in Cairo.

Education
On May 13, 1908, Prince Youssef Kamal opened the University of Fine Art (École Égyptienne des Beaux-Arts) in Darb El-Gamameez and Mokhtar joined at the age of 17 years old. Mokhtar was the first student to join the University and grew in knowledge and talent of the arts. After graduating in 1912, he travelled to Paris to continue his studies by gaining a Scholarship from Prince Youssef Kamal and the recommendation of his French Professor La Plani.

In Paris, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris (École des Beaux-Arts). He also enrolled as a student in the studio of the French Sculptor Jules-Felix Coutan. There, his deep interest in the ancient Egyptian- Pharaonic civilization grew and was incorporated in many of his arts. During the outbreak of World War I (1914-1918), he contributed by working in ammunition factories for 10 hours in Paris and worked at the Griffan Museum as a technical manager.

Statue of the Egyptian Renaissance (Nahdet Misr)
After World War I, Egypt was in the midst of its first revolution against the British occupation in 1919. Mokhtar was inspired by it and sculpted the first model of the very famous sculpture: "Nahdet Misr" (Egyptian Renaissance). The sample sculpture was displayed in the Salon des Artistes Français in 1920 and was admired by Saad Pasha Zaghloul. The piece won a gold medal at the Grand-Palais. "Nahdet Misr" illustrates the Sphinx of Giza and an Egyptian farmer woman (fellaha) with her face unveiled during a time where the middle class women in Egypt walked around veiled. This art piece is made from Aswan granite, which is the same stone which the Egyptian sculptors used in the Pharaonic times. The sample sculpture turned into a national monument for Egyptians representing the ancient history of Egypt and the pride of the future Egyptian generations. It was initially installed in Bab Al-Hadid Square on May 20, 1928, but was later moved near Cairo University in front of Giza Zoo to make room for the statue of Ramses II.

Mukhtar Museum
Despite his short life, Mukhtar made an great impact on the The Mukhtar Museum was opened on July 24, 1962.