| Biography of the artist |
| Text by: Dominique Roussel Curator of the Museum of Soisson - France |
| Page 1 of 4 In the 20th century, schools of painting are involved in new paths, far from the strict boundaries outlined by tradition. A man meanwhile, who seemed to have thwarted the century in a seemingly state of preserved innocence, leastwise in appearance, did not take part in the deep transformations that took place around him. This then, was Charobim, a sociable man, isolated from the romantics, the moderns, and the surrealists who formed alliances with those critics who supported the aspirations of their groups. The birth of Chafik Michail Charobim on November 1894 was a great happening in the family, as he was the first male offspring for the Charobims. His father Michail "Bey" married late responding to the insistence of his brother, who, having lost all hopes of having children of his own, begged Michail Bey to get married and perpetuate the name of the family to whom he would leave the family's fortune, his own included. And so it was, and little Chafik had a very happy childhood, an era where members of the family took every opportunity to bestow favors upon him and spoil him. His father then chief of the court of justice was transferred to Alexandria and rented a palace, which belonged to a Prince in "Moharam Bey" for the entire family. This was year 1900. Chafik was then six years old and attended St-Andre school, traveling to and from school on a dogcart pulled by a little pony. The Palace home with the beautiful surrounding gardens left a strong imprint on that 6-year-old child, who kept forever the memory of the bright colored flowers in his mind's eyes. The family's stay in Alexandria lasted tree years and upon their return to Cairo, Chafik was enrolled in St-Mary school in garden city. It is in this school that the child began to sketch, a cousin of his father who could draw and paint further encouraged him to draw. Michail Bey, Chafik's father who had high hopes of his son becoming a doctor valued all his art-work as "child Play" but the boy went on sketching and drawing under the direction of that unexpected teacher from St-Mary primary School that saw great potential in that boy. Chafik was later sent to "Les Frère des école chretiennes" where he found again someone who taught drawing and painting, Father Leon. Seeing the young boy's drawings, Father Leon in his enthusiasm asked Michail Bey to send the young Chafik to Europe to study painting. It was naturally out of the question to even think about it said the older Charobim. (He might settle for Engineering School instead of Medicine but no Art - no way!) |
Alexandria (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια, Coptic Rakotə, Arabic: الإسكندرية Al- Iskandariya), (population of 3.5 to 5 million), is the second largest city in Egypt, and its largest seaport. Alexandria extends about 20 miles (32 km) up and down the Mediterranean sea in northwest Egypt. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria, and is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. In ancient times, the city was known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) and the Library of Alexandria (the largest library in the ancient world). Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbour of Alexandria (which began in 1994) is revealing details of Alexandria during the Ptolemaic dynasty. Source Wikipedia, encyclopedia |
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| Picture of the artist at work in his studio in Helouan year 1938 |
| The Art of Chafik Charobim |
| www.charobim.com |