Exposition Art Blog: Abdel Hadi Al Gazzar

Abdel Hadi Al Gazzar

Abdel Hadi Al Gazzar (1925-1966) was an Egyptian painter. He occupies a unique position among the artists of his generation. Since his death, his work has not ceased to challenge artists, intellectuals and critics both in Egypt and abroad.
Abdel Hady Mohammad El- Gazzar was born on March 14, 1925 in the Akkabri district in Alexandria; he was son of a Sheikh, a religious scholar. In 1940, his family moved to Cairo and settled in the district of Sayyida Zaynab.
At Helmiyya Secondary School, Al Gazzar attended courses at the 'artistic club’ organized by Hussein Youssef Amin, the founder of The Group of Contemporary Art, in 1944; this group constituted one of the major early attempts to ground Egyptian arts in its own culture. The artists embarked on a search for Egyptian traditions and applied folk symbols mixed with popular philosophy in order to rid Egypt's art of romantic and unrealistic traces left by the earlier Western Orientalist painters. Al Gazzar was a member of this group, which included other Egyptian important artists such as Hamed Nada and Samir Rafi'.
In 1950, Al Gazzar graduated from the Cairo School of Fine Arts, where he subsequently worked as an assistant professor. He had his first personal exhibition held at the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art in Cairo during the period December 17–24, 1951. Al Gazzar obtained two scholarships in Rome, Italy, in 1954 and in 1957. He obtained a diploma from the School of Art and Restoration of Rome. He visited schools of Fine Arts in England, France and Italy.
From 1958 to 1965, Al Gazzar participated in many national and international exhibitions, winning several medals and prizes. In 1965, shortly before his death, he participated for the second time in the Alexandria Biennial.
He died in 1966 of a heart condition.Wikipedia 












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