Sabri Raghib

Sabri Raghib

At the age of five, Sabri Raghib’s talent for drawing first manifested itself. "The walls of the house were covered with random scratches, lines, curves and circles. My family had to re-paint the walls over and over in quick succession, a matter that caused troubles. One of my relatives who was working as an art teacher in Shubra secondary school had the solution. He bought me sheets of white papers and watercolors. He stuck the papers over the wall and that was the real beginning," Raghib said.

Sabri Raghib, known as master of portraits and flowers, was born on December 3,1920. "While a child, I had the chance of meeting a foreign artist named Paul. He came with my uncle and stayed in the basement. He was a magnificent, yet eccentric, artist. During the first half of every month, he was deeply involved with his portraits and during the second with wine! I was greatly astonished to see him making portraits," he added.

Sabri Raghib was also deeply affected by a calligraphist and painter named Mansour who drew pictures of Jesus Christ, Mary the Virgin and the journey of the Holy Family to Egypt. A Turkish portraitist who made a portrait of Raghib had a tremendous impact on Raghib’s career.

In 1937, Sabri joined the Faculty of Fine Arts against the will of his mother who wanted him to be a doctor. His father on the contrary has always supported him. "As a child I have always enjoyed freedom. I have rebelled against school discipline. In my first year at university, I did not attend lectures regularly. That’s why Professor Ahmad Sabri who felt I am talented advised me to travel to Italy and join the Rome-based Art Academy. My father was very considerate. For a time, he sent me ten pounds every month but suddenly he stopped on the claim that I am a failure," Raghib expounded.

In 1951, Raghib came back. He was again enrolled in the Faculty of Fine Arts. He graduated in 1952. For a time, he worked as an art teacher, a period he described as "one of the most flourishing in my artistic and educational career".

"When portraying, I have a face-to face relationship with human feelings. Portraits of persons have the depth of human interaction. Those of flowers are similar in that every flower turns into a human. For example, violet represents sadness," Raghib said. According to Raghib, a portraitist must have insight. "I cannot live without love. I am always in love with people, animals, roses and cats. It is easier to fathom the depths of women than men," he added.

Raghib’s fastest portrait is that of Tawfiq al-Hakim. It was done in 25 minutes. He described al-Hakim as open-minded. In Raghib’s viewpoint, al-Hakim’s literary characters bear resemblance to him.

Among the other personalities Raghib portrayed are Dr. Zaki Naguib Mahoud, novelist Yossef Idris, thinker Ahmed Bahaa al-Din, Hassan Fouad Nabil, a man of noble birth and novelist Ihsan Abd al-Qudus.

Elegance, stability and charm characterize Sabri Raghib’s style. He is an impressionist in that the effects are produced by light and colour rather than by details of form.