Mohamed Oweis: the Nationalist Painter
Egypt, People, 8/7/2001

The Egyptian painter Mohamed Oweis was born in 1919 at a village in the southern governorate of Beni Suif. He intermingled with nature and farmers and developed his artistic talent there.

Oweis's family wanted him to be a police officer but he refused completely and joined the faculty of fine arts in 1939. Oweis excelled in the art of the portrait as he drew all the members of his family and the farmers of his village.

After that, Oweis became a faithful student of the great Egyptian painters Ahmed Sabry and Yousif Kamil at the Faculty of Fine arts. They taught him the aestheticism and classicism of art. After graduation, he worked as a teacher of drawing.

He took part in founding the Egyptian Group of Modern Art in 1947. Oweis moved to Alexandria to work at a high school. Over there, he met the great Alexandrine painters Mahmoud Said, Mohamed Nagi, Seif and Adham Waneli, and sculptor Mahmoud Moussa. He learnt much from them. This experience resulted in adopting cubism, then expressionism and finally impressionism as the main feature of his paintings.

Oweis visited Italy and France in 1952 and was greatly impressed by the Renaissance painters. He began to adopt their style. The New York Museum of Modern Art due to their excellence and genius acquired some of his paintings at that time.

Oweis's paintings are now scattered all over the world as in Germany, Poland, Russia, and Spain. Meanwhile, Egypt has dedicated many pavilions for his paintings in different museums whether in Cairo or Alexandria.

The German sculptor Fritz Krimer said about Oweis in the preface of his book on him: ' Oweis is a universal painter whose Egyptian heritage is truly reflected in his works'. Therefore, Oweis was given the State Award of Appreciation this year.

Previous Stories:
  Dr. Saheir AI Qalamawi: Schehrezade of contemporary literary life   (7/20/2001)
  Mohamed Oweis: the nationalist painter   (7/17/2001)
  France rediscovers Idris Effendi   (6/29/2001)

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