Modern Painting in Egypt

Modern Painting in Egypt is an invitation to travel through the Egyptian art scene of the 20th century, highlighting several major painters, as well as their role in the construction of heritage culture of Egypt. This edition brings up to date the book by Aimé Azar, a well-known specialist in modern Egyptian art. Published in 1961 by Éditions Nouvelles, it is now out of print. Augmented and enriched, this new edition in two volumes provides readers, a comprehensive understanding of this period of art history, through texts and iconography by great qualities. The book is divided into seven chapters, followed by more than 90 biographies of Egyptian artists and foreigners, presented in chronological order and covering 40 years of modern Egyptian art. A corpus of more than 600 paintings and drawings adorns the book, to allow the reader to understand the essence of Egyptian painting, as well as the extent of its nuances. Translated and reprinted in Arabic in 2006, it is now published in English, in order to provide an international impetus to the subject.

Valérie Didier is a graduate of Cambridge University and the Courtauld Institute in London. She participates in several projects with major institutions, including the Louvre in Paris, the Center for Research and Restoration of French Museums, and the Princely Collections of the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna, Austria. For Christie’s, she joined the Impressionist and Modern Art Department in 2006, became director of business development in the Middle East, then since 2017 is a specialist in the impressionist and modern art in Paris. Hussam Rashwan is a scholar who is part of the Egyptian academic artistic elite. In order to preserve the history of modern Egyptian art, it maintains an exceptional collection of art and literary references and has developed renowned expertise in this subject. It supports numerous research projects and collaborates with art collectors, eminent scholars, major institutions and curators. Valérie Didier and Hussam Rashwan have already published together, Mahmoud Saïd, the catalogue raisonné (2017).