Hussein Bicar

Egyptian artist

Hussein Amin Bicar (2 January 1913 in Alexandria – 16 November 2002) was one of Egypt's most prominent artists of the 20th century. After graduating from the Cairo's School of Fine Arts in 1934, he spent more than 60 years of his life teaching art at schools and universities and then through the press. Bicar is credited for initiating a style of journalistic art that elevated illustrating for newspapers to a level close to that of the fine art and is known for his simple and clear style reflecting the influence of Pharaonic art with its harmony, serenity and mysticism. Bicar's journalistic contributions go beyond illustrations to include art criticism and narrative poetry. Being the first Egyptian artist to illustrate Arabic children's books, Bicar has played a major role in establishing and promoting this field. Furthermore, his portraits and oil paintings depicting graceful Egyptian peasants, Nubian scenes, his native Alexandria and Egyptian Pharaonic themes as well as his elegant, gracious nature has earned him great recognition and honors. In the words of late journalist Mustafa Amin:"he is not a single artist, he is a master of several arts he is a painter, photographer, poet, musician and philosopher".

Hussein Amin Ibrahim Bicar was born on 2 January 1913 near Anfoushi, to an Egyptian family of distant Cypriot descent, he was also a follower of the Baháʼí Faith in Egypt. From the time of his childhood in Alexandria, Bicar seemed destined to be an artist. He could play the lute at the age of eight and by nine, he was in demand as a music teacher for society ladies who due to cultural restrictions could not use adult male teachers. Bicar's father died when he was young. His mother, who always encouraged his talents, moved him to Cairo when he entered the Higher School of Fine Arts at age fifteen. This school on Khallat Street in Shoubra was founded privately in the early 1900s. All teachers were European and students were obliged to follow a curriculum based in Western art. One of his teachers Friedman Cluezel from Sweden was especially important to Bicar's artistic development. He recognized Bicar to be “gifted as a portrait artist”. To express his confidence, Cluezel asked the young student to draw his portrait—one of the first of many that Bicar produced over the years. In 1928 the Higher School of Fine Arts was brought under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, and Egyptian artists who had studied in Europe began to be hired as assistants and later as teachers. These teachers brought a new spirit into the school as they promoted sensitivity for Egyptian heritage. Among them was the great sculptor, Mahmoud Mokhtar. In his senior year, Bicar was able to study with the best portrait artist in Egypt at that time, Ahmed Sabri, who became his mentor and lifelong friend. Graduating at the top of his class in 1933, the bright young Bicar had dreams of a brilliant future as a freelance artist, but the economic depression of the 1930s introduced a harsh reality. Bicar did manage, however, to earn a living during these difficult times and, paradoxically, to develop a versatility that served him well throughout his career.

Even from a very early age Bicar taught art to others, in Alexandria when he was just ten years old, he was a music teacher for society ladies who due to cultural restrictions could not use adult male teachers. One of his first jobs was a painter of folkloric scenes in the Helwan wax museum on Ibrahim Street. He also found work as a teacher in elementary and secondary schools and, in 1939, was selected as a member of a team of teachers who went to Morocco to teach at the invitation of the Moroccan government. During the next four years in Morocco, he learned to speak Spanish fluently. He also traveled extensively, taking advantage of his proximity to Europe. Bicar was visiting Berlin when World War II was declared. His job in Morocco ended and the Mediterranean was closed to travelers. To return to Egypt, he was forced to go by way of the Cape around South Africa. He spent three months during this journey painting portraits in Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony and the only neutral country on his route. In 1943, after his return to Egypt, he was appointed assistant to his former professor, Ahmed Sabri, Bicar spent the next 17 years there where he went on to become the chair of the painting department where he taught the majority of a generation of contemporary Egyptian artists. His inclination to draw on Egyptian heritage for subject was inspirational for many of these students.