Hussein Bicar

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 Egyptian peasants, Nubian scenes, his native Alexandria and Egyptian Pharaonic themes as well as his nature has earned him 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".

• Birth Name — Hussein Amin Ibrahim Bicar • Born — 2 January 1913 • Birthplace — Alexandria, Egypt • Died — 16 November 2002 • Occupation — Artist • Education — Higher School of Fine Arts, Cairo

• Illustration — Bicar as a young boy 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. • Illustration — "Bicar playing the lute" by his mentor Ahmed Sabri, 1934 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 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. After graduating at the top of his class in 1933, Bicar envisioned a successful future as a freelance artist. The economic depression of the 1930s, however, quickly tempered those aspirations. Nevertheless, he succeeded in making a living during these difficult years and, paradoxically, developed the versatility that became one of the defining strengths of 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.

Aside from primarily teaching for 17 years, Bicar also did some illustration work for the newspaper, Akhbar El Yom. In 1959, its founders and owners, Ali and Mustafa Amin, asked him to work full-time. He was to fill a unique position, that of a foreign correspondent who produced illustrated reportage for world circulation. He left the Faculty of Arts and began this adventurous assignment which took him to Ethiopia, Syria, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia and Spain. These travels were curtailed when the newspaper was nationalized in 1962. That position was terminated but Bicar continued to write regular columns as an art critic for Akhbar El Yom and also write and illustrate a series of four–line verses called “The Rubaiyat”.

• Illustration — "Triumph" by Bicar, 1973 Bicar believed that the challenge to hitherto artists was to syncretize by being local and international at the same time. He felt that a successful artist acknowledges the interdependence of all societies and cultures yet does not ignore the cultural foundation which gives fundamental meaning to life. Bicar believes that modern art has lost its way by resorting to shape without content. His art has a message. He aspires not “to imitate trite shapes” but to find the spirit that can inspire the artist. He defers to Mahmoud Mokhtar who was the first to insist that modern Egyptian art must come from Egyptian roots but should not imitate traditional art. As a painter, Bicar's work is characterized by pure and simple lines which convey elements of forcefulness and spirituality. His versatility appears again and again as he works in a variety of media including water color, tempera, and oils—but the result is a distinctive Bicar style. His subject matter is Egyptian. Unlike classical Greek or Roman art, which may be described as basically physical, the essence of Egyptian art is spiritual. The stylized figures in his paintings carry a poetic message representing the stability, nobility, and strength to be found in the character of Egypt's agrarian roots. His sparse, minimalistic lines often impose a sculptured quality on his figures in their austere settings. This philosophical orientation towards expressing the spirituality of subjects is also apparent in Bicar's portraits. His subjects seem to glow and exude their personalities. Since his college days, Bicar has continued to be an outstanding portrait artist. Hussein Bicar's contribution to the arts of Egypt is vast. After more than half a century as an artist and critic, he continued to be eclectic in his tastes, receptive to change, and eager to understand all schools of art as they reflect world conditions. Elegant in his simplicity, Bicar explained, “To understand is to appreciate”.

• Illustration — Bicar with his lute and bouzouki • Illustration — Bicar playing his bouzouki Bicar was an avid music lover, he could play the lute at the age of eight and by nine was teaching it to young girls and woman society. He never learned how to read notations even with the help of tutor and claimed unfortunately, I did not go beyond the ear, I listen to music but I could never read the note. Bicar was active in Cairo’s art scene for over 50 years. He worked as a musician, poet, painter, teacher, illustrator, journalist, and writer. His work encompassed cartoons and paintings, and he was associated with an eclectic style. Bicar's approach to art was reflected in his comment that “to understand is to appreciate.”

In the 1980s, the Egyptian government arrested a number of Baháʼís, including Bicar, who was one of the high-profile leaders of the community. The Baháʼís were accused of trying to share teachings of the religion, which was banned in Egypt in the 1960s. Labib Moawad, one of Egypt's leading lawyers, defended Bicar and the other Baháʼís, and eventually all charges against Bicar were dropped due to his old age. Bicar presented Moawad with a painting as a tribute for his efforts during the trial. After the trial, Bicar received the Mubarak award for the arts, and his public status was rehabilitated.

The authorities additionally record the heading Hussein Amin Bicar. His recorded languages were Arabic and Egyptian Arabic. His recorded confession was Baháʼí Faith.