Hassan Mohamed Hassan

Who was Hassan Mohamed Hassan?

Hassan Mohamed Hassan was one of the pioneers of Egyptian modern art from the second-wave such as Saeed elSadr and Ahmed Osman. Hassan has been called Painter of the Epics and Philosophies by critiques and has been recognized by his colleagues for his strong adherence to Classical forms in Egyptian modern art. He has produced over 100 paintings some of which are on the large scale and most of which remain 'stored' with the family in his—now closed—residence near the Pyramids in Cairo. He had authored 4 books in arts, history of art, philosophy of art, and arts and society.

Born in Cairo in 1906 to a middle-class family with a Sufi Sheikh father, Hassan has seen the early days of Egypt's semi-independence from Ottomans under British occupation. Typical of the vogue of the day at Cairo, he has been noted for his patriotism through the seeking of a modern identity of the nation embedded in both heritage and modernity. He has died in Cairo on 30 March 1990.