Ville Européenne (European City)

Born in Alexandria into an aristocratic family, Mahmoud Saїd (1897–1964) was the son of a former prime minister and uncle of the future Queen Farida of Egypt. One of the pioneers of the Egyptian art movement, he stands out among Egyptian artists of the time for his superior skill, style and range of subjects. Saїd became interested in art in his teens and at first studied with the Alexandria-based Italian artist Amelia da Forno Casonato and then later with Arturo Zanieri. Social expectations prevented him from pursuing a full-time career as an artist and he studied law, graduating from Cairo University in 1918. Two years later, he travelled to Paris, and for the following five years (1920–1925), he took drawing classes at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière for three months a year. In the meantime, he continued in his career as a judge until he retired at the age of fifty in order to fully dedicate himself to his art. He died on the day of his birthday, 8 April 1964.