full essay - Contemporary Practices

Essay95Credit The Pilgrims Meet Pope Cyriac before the Walls of Rome, from the St. Ursula Cycle, 1498 (oil on canvas),Carpaccio, Vittore (c.1460-1523). Galleria dell’ Accademia, Venice, Italy Alinari. The Bridgeman Art Library.pictorial structure. The bright firm light submergingLe Nil vers Béni Hassan possibly echoes the awakenednational Egyptian pride. At the same time, the paintingresonates much of Egypt’s glorious past throughthe location of the scene next to the tombs of BéniHassan, but also through its depiction of the Nile, oneof the most important and vital elements of Egyptiancivilization. To a certain extent, the boats sailing on theNile could also be connotations of Ancient Egyptianreligious burial rituals. The feluccas may symbolicallyrefer to the Egyptian God Ra’s boat, which carried thegood souls of the deceased to the heavenly shores wherethey were ensured immortality by being offered anafter-life. Said’s feluccas are hence a tribute to Egyptianheritage, possibly hinting to some of the scenes lavishlydecorating the Béni Hassan tombs and depicting theAncient Egyptian belief of the quest for the afterlife.Incarnation of Nationalism & FeminismWhen the newly founded group ‘La Chimère’ held itsfirst show in 1927, works of its European and Egyptianmembers, such as Mokhtar, Saïd, Ayad and Naghi, wereexhibited. There were ladies of high society attendingthe event, who were ‘outspoken feminists involved inthe struggle for the emancipation of women initiatedby Hoda Shaarawi’ . Parallel to the growing feeling ofnationalism, Hoda Shaarawi (1879-1947) was a leadingfigure in the history of feminism in Egypt. She was avery accomplished educated woman. She organisedlectures for women and opened a school in 1910 forgirls, teaching them academic studies with the aimof breaching the tradition of women being confinedto the house or the harem. She shocked Egyptians bypermanently removing the hijab after her husband’sdeath in 1922. Furthermore, she was a prominent figure