Biography-2

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In 1913 while attending high School in Khoronfich, Chafik was again helped
by another painter Father, who gave the young aspiring artist Chafik the
ultimate task of decorating the College Theater, and what an experience it
was. In class Chafik spent time sketching portraits of his teachers and
classmates who proudly posed for the young artist.

Chafik having good academic grades, was later permitted to take painting
lessons only as a hobby, with Scarlatti, Sirigitis and with Tennyson Call
the King George portraitist who was in Cairo in 1919.

Bending to the aspiration of his father, Chafik was now in the faculty of civil
engineering at Fouad the First University in Cairo, however, his father's
sudden death changed the course of the life of this young artist forever.

Soon after his father's death Chafik dropped out of the university in his
second year, got married to Marie (the daughter of Amin Pasha Ghali) in
1921 and left for Italy with his wife to fulfill his dream and study painting at
the academy of fine arts of Rome. It is under, the teaching of Professor
Umberto Coromaldi that Chafik's special feelings of warmth and the artistic
touch started to be expressed in his paintings in a way only an artist can
express.

While in Rome, Chafik visited and worked in many studios, where he met
his compatriots and painters Youssef Kamel and Ragheb Ayad, who
became his friends. At the same period at "St-Cecile" Chafik came to meet
a young talented Egyptian artist studying theater, they will become best
friends for the rest of their lives: the great artist and actor Abdel Koudous,
who later married "Rosa El-Youssef", founder of the famous Egyptian
magazine with the same name.

In 1924, with a diploma in art from the Rome institute of fine arts, Chafik
returned to Cairo and was charged by King Fouad the First to teach at
the still new School of fine Arts of Cairo. But the artist valued his
independence more and would not be restricted to courses, fixed hours
and paper-work so a few month later he tendered his resignation in order
to "be free like a bird".

RAS EL-BAR

The Ras El-Bar beach resort,
bordered by the Damietta
branch of the Nile on the east
and the Mediterranean Sea on
the north and west, appears on
a map like a stretching arm that
separates Egypt's source of life
from a briny sea.

Ras El-Bar’s history as a
seaside resort dates back to
1823, when a group of the Sufi
order sheikhs and their
followers started a tradition of
annually sailing north on the
Nile from Damietta to celebrate
the Sheikh Girby’s anniversary
at his birthplace in the south of
Ras El-Bar. The Girby region,
which is located at the mouth of
the river, now, carries
numerous hotels, restaurants
and casinos.

Beach cottages initially built of
basket-woven bamboo and
later reinforced with stone
basis, offer a unique charm to
this resort, which also houses
the Sheikh Youssef fortress as
well as the Ras El-Bar light
house, which Charobim both
captured in his paintings, in
addition to the serene beaches
and eye-catching cottages.
Together with his family,
Charobim enjoyed numerous
summer vacations in this
resort in which he found
scenery which enchanted his
artistic eye and inspired his
imagination. What attracted him
the most in this haven was its
natural simplicity. During the
1960's, the only means of
transport allowed in this little
resort was a Disney-Land-type
of small red train, bicycles and
horses on which children could
take rides. The latter was an
enchanting sight which the
artist also immortalized in one
of his works of art.

And he did well, as coastal
retreat represents a substantial
departure from the history of
the area. The Delta shoreline
that had been advancing
throughout the history of the
Delta formation is now
retreating. Villages and seaside
resort establishments, notably
Ras-El-Bar are gradually losing
ground. From 1902 to 1960 the
length of the Ras El-Bar
peninsula has decreased by
about 1800 meters, an average
of 31 meters per year. The
retreat is the sum of two
opposite processes; the natural
process of building the Delta by
the annual load of sediments
brought to the shoreline by the
river flood; and the erosion
action of waves and a westward
shoreline current that prevails
throughout the main part of the
year. This erosion varies locally
but its main effect is the
distribution of bodies of coastal
sand dunes, which are burying
villages on one side and
exposing the shoreline on the
other side. Contrary to the
earlier history of the area, this
contemporary coastal retreat is
linked to river control schemes,
such as the Delta Barrages
(1881), the Aswan Dam (1902)
and the Aswan High Dam (1967).
The High Dam brings the Nile
under full control and reduces
the water discharged into the
sea and its load of sediments to
almost nil.

Source Wikipedia,
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