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La Chimère: The Artistic Society That Reclaimed Egyptian Folk Art

October 30, 2024
mm

By Nadine Tag

Journalist

mm

By Nadine Tag

Journalist

The first artistic society in Egypt, La Chimère, which means “Gama’at Al-Khayal,” (The Imagination Group) was founded by Egyptian artists, Mahmoud Mokhtar, Mahmoud Said, Ahmad Youssef, and Mohammed Naghi, with the goal of consolidating their vision of Egyptian Modernism. As fine arts groups emerged in the wake of the first-ever Egyptian Art School in 1908, La Chimère was one of the main influences on fine arts in the 20th century.  The artistic society represented a reclamation of Egyptian folk art, significantly influenced by efforts to redefine Egyptian culture during and after the British occupation, actively rejecting Western aesthetic values. Artists from La Chimère held the first exhibition ever in 1928 and went on to play a pivotal role in establishing a distinctly national Egyptian art form. However, the group disbanded in 1930, when Mokhtar left for Paris. With an emblem featuring an Art Deco-style winged goddess on a golden base, La Chimère harbored goals larger than organizing large international exhibitions. Its nationalistic drive to develop a local art scene, inclusive of all artists, distinguished it from other fine arts groups, such as the Alexandria Society of Fine Arts or the…


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