chafik charobim

Chafik Charobim, born on November 4th, 1894, was the first child of Michail Bey Charobim (1861-1918) and Henena Badir (1870-1952), and was followed by four siblings. His father was Chief of the Court of Justice as well as a writer and historian who's most notable work is the history of Egypt in 5 volumes “A Compendium on the Ancient and Modern History of Egypt”.

Cairo 1896

Charobim aged 2

In 1900, Charobim's father, was transferred from Cairo to Alexandria, where he rented a small palace in Moharam Bey for the family. The young Charobim attended his primary classes at St. Andre’s School there. The palace with its surrounding gardens left a lasting impression on the 6-year-old who kept the memory of the palm trees and bright colored flowers, and later sketched them from memory. The family stay in Alexandria lasted three years, and on their return to Cairo, he was sent to St. Mary’s School in Garden City. It is then that he began to sketch, with the encouragement of one of his father’s cousins who painted as a hobby.

Charobim’s father had high hopes of his son becoming a doctor and dismissed his art-work as child play. But the passion for art had already taken its hold of the young artist’s dreams. He sketched and drew under the direction of his art teacher, who had quickly recognized Charobim’s talent.  When he later attended secondary school at the College de La Salle in Koronfiche, Father Léon, who taught drawing and painting, mentored and guided him in art. Recognizing the young man’s talent, he asked Charobim Bey to send the young man to study painting in Europe. The notion of his oldest son averting recognized academic studies in Egypt, at the time, was out of question for the father. Alternatively he would settle for an engineering or career for his son, instead of a medical one.

Meanwhile, in class, Charobim often sketched portraits of his teachers and classmates, who gladly posed for the aspiring artist. To satisfy his fervor for art, Charobim took painting lessons with several European artists who resided in Egypt at the time, one of whom was Tennyson Call, King George’s portraitist.

During that era when art flourished in Egypt, Charobim,orientalist painter Roger Breval, sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar, painter Ahmed Sabri and other artists founded "La Chimère". The setting located on the ground floor of a building on Antikhana Street in Cairo’s down town area, served as studios as well as exhibitions space for eminent academic artists. Other than the founding members, artists included Beppi Martin, Mahmoud Said, Mohamed Hassan, Nagy and Youssef Kamel. Roushdi Pacha, president emeritus often visited and bought their works.

Cairo 1926

La Chimère

In 1923, the Friends of the Arts collective organized their first exhibition, displaying the works of a number of Egyptian painters and sculptors. It was inaugurated by King Fouad I, who bought one of Charobim’s paintings entitled “The Dog”.

Cairo 1927

Friends of the Arts exhibition – Savoy Hotel

Following a long and painful illness, Charobim’s wife died in 1927 leaving him with the care of their 5-year old child. During that period, the artist’s somber mood was reflected in his limited paintings, mostly of sunsets. He began reading extensively however, and his interests ranged from history, politics and philosophy to animal life, medicine and naturally to art and its history. At the same time, being a deeply sociable man, he kept a close relationship with his extended family, friends and neighbours. One of these neighbours and close friends was El-Sheikh El-Maraghy, head of Al-Azhar at the time.

Cairo 1935

At his easel – Helwan