This chapter integrates important topics into the mainstream of early twentieth-century Egyptian history. It gives a general overview of 1919–52 visual artistic expression, which depicts how painting and sculpture were critical to the articulation of a national image. It also provides valuable insights into the cursus honori of Egyptian artists during these years, who emerge as truly international figures. Artistic pioneers of the 1920s and 1930s viewed Egypt in ways distinct from the orientalists who preceded them. In the process, they established Egypt as unique among Arab countries. By...

This chapter integrates important topics into the mainstream of early twentieth-century Egyptian history. It gives a general overview of 1919–52 visual artistic expression, which depicts how painting and sculpture were critical to the articulation of a national image. It also provides valuable insights into the cursus honori of Egyptian artists during these years, who emerge as truly international figures. Artistic pioneers of the 1920s and 1930s viewed Egypt in ways distinct from the orientalists who preceded them. In the process, they established Egypt as unique among Arab countries. By also examining 1940s approaches expressing the subjective, psychological world of the masses, this chapter demonstrates Egyptian artists' intensifying social concerns toward the end of the monarchy, rendering the visual arts a key barometer of societal dynamics.