Egyptian surrealism history pages: “Art et liberte” group

Abstract

The article examines the activities of the Cairo group “Art et Liberté” and its leader, a talented artist, painting theorist and translator Ramses Younan, who largely determined the ways of reforming the fine arts of Egypt in the 1930s and 1940s. This issue has not yet entered the orbit of the scientific interests of Russian scientists, which determines the relevance and scientific novelty of the study. Based on a comparative analysis of the array of information dispersed in foreign sources not translated into Russian, this work recreates the history of the appearance of ‘Art et Liberté”, comprehends the historical, political and socio-cultural factors that determined the ideological, philosophical and aesthetic platform of the group and its representatives. Special attention in the article is paid to one of the flagships of “Art et Liberté” Ramses Younan, his “revolutionary” activities as part of this modernist association are analyzed, the master’s ideological and artistic views on the essence of art are outlined, the role of the creative results of Ramses Younan, who made a significant contribution to the theory and practice of Egyptian surrealism. Inclusion in the Russian scientific circulation and critical understanding of previously unclaimed information fills the existing “gaps”, opens up prospects in the further development of the problem of cultural dialogue between the West and the East, as well as the national identity of painting in Egypt of the 20th century.