The origins of pictorial art
Limited to the representation of living beings, early Islamic art found expression in complex geometric shapes, plant motifs and calligraphy. Highly respected, calligraphers decorated places of prayer with extracts from the Koran, following different styles and schools. Later, the texts were used to decorate pottery and ceramic tiles. A visit to the Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Arts is a must to appreciate the richness of these artistic disciplines.
In the 19th century, it was Western painters who portrayed Algeria, in particular the Orientalist movement led by painters such as Delacroix(Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement). In the lobby and corridors of the Royal Hotel, in the center of Oran, you can appreciate several Orientalist works. Three rooms in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Algiers are devoted to orientalism, and the museum also features a collection of European paintings from the 14th to the 20th century, as well as a wide range of Algerian art.
The twentieth century saw the emergence of talents freed from religious prohibitions, while in contrast, pictorial traditions such as illumination and calligraphy were perpetuated.
The emergence of Algerian painting
The adoption of painting, relatively recent in Algeria, has taken on the appearance of a conquest. This European mode of expression is reminiscent of Algerian writers expressing themselves in the language of the colonizers. During the colonial period, a minority of visual artists converted to easel painting. This marked a profound change in the way the world was viewed. The first wave of painters emerged in Algiers, the colonial city with the best cultural facilities. Leading the way were Azouaou Mammeri and the Racim brothers, Omar and Mohamed. They were followed by Boukerche and Bensemane.
Other artistic centers were emerging. Constantine saw the talent of the painter Hemche develop; in Oran, it was Guermaz; in Tlemcen, the artist Yelles.
Mohamed Racim
Racim (1896-1975), known for his talent as a miniaturist, was born in the Casbah of Algiers. Spotted at elementary school, he was placed by his patron at the Crafts Department. There, he copied works, mainly illuminations. This project, intended to promote traditional arts, did not allow him to explore his own personality. This would come later, with the support of the painter Dinet, whom he met in 1914. Dinet introduced him to genre scenes and the importance of composition. He soon met Marçais, who encouraged him to incorporate perspective into miniatures. It was by following this path that he won such acclaim that he was awarded Algeria's Grand Prix Artistique in 1933.
Azouaou Mammeri
Kabyle Azouaou Mammeri (1886-1954) was the first Algerian painter to switch to easel painting. It was during his training as a teacher that Mammeri developed his talent as a draughtsman and painter. He adopts the codes of easel painting so faithfully that he has often been called an imitator. However, Mammeri brings an extreme, courageous sobriety to a context where it was difficult for an artist to make a place for himself.
Omar Racim
The elder brother of Mohamed Racim, Omar stood out for his rejection of colonialism. He founded newspapers advocating the Nahda or Renaissance, and glorifying Arab-Islamic traditions. Reprisals were not long in coming. In 1914, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was reduced thanks to his brother's intervention. He was released from prison in 1921, but his incarceration only strengthened his convictions. From then on, he injected his faith into drawing and became an illuminator of the Koran. He opened an art school, reserved for traditional practice. Established in the Casbah, it was to become the first Algerian school for calligraphy and illumination of sacred texts. In the 1930s, the school was attended by a whole generation of supporters of the national movement. Mohamed Temmam, Mostefa Debagh, Boutaleb Mahieddine, Ali Ali-Khodja and many others contributed to the dissemination of Muslim arts, while fiercely resisting colonization.
Art associations
A wind of freedom blew through the capital in the 1950s. A few young artists founded the Groupe 51, which met in a café in the Marine district, the Café d'Ouzegane. The first representatives of this movement were the painter Jean Senac and the poet Sauveur Galliero. They were joined by theatrical figures Moustapha Kateb, Mesli, Tiffou, Laïl, Cardona and Issiakhem. They were united by a shared desire for modernity and a revolt against the colonial order. They were joined by Jean de Maisonseul. An artist and urban planner, he worked for fraternity and joined Camus in his fight for truce. The publisher Edmond Charlot exhibited the works of these artists in his gallery on rue Charras.
However, the artists of this generation ended up in exile in Paris. They continued their studies at the Beaux-Arts de Paris or the Grande Chaumière. There, they explored different trends, such as abstraction, expressionism and naive art.
The Algerian war, which broke out in November 1954, changed the course of some of them. Some went off to fight, others defended their positions through drawing.
In the 1960s, the Aouchem group drew inspiration from the traditions still alive in folk art.
Issiakhem's expressionist art
Born in Kabylia, M'hamed Issiakhem (1928-1985) suffered a tragedy at the age of 15, when he accidentally pulled the pin out of a grenade stolen from American soldiers. The blast, which cost the lives of two of his sisters and a nephew, left him without his left arm. Later, he trained at the Beaux-Arts in Algiers. A student of Omar Racim, he befriended Kateb Yacine and headed for Paris with him. Admitted to the Beaux-arts de Paris in 1951, he returned to independent Algeria in 1962. He became a teacher in Algiers and then Oran. He was one of the founding members of the Union nationale des arts plastiques d'Algérie. A member of the Group of 35, he exhibited in Algeria and abroad. While his landscapes and abstract canvases are appreciated, he excels above all in female portraiture. The Musée d'Art Moderne d'Alger (MAMA ) devoted a retrospective to him on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death.
Her contemporary Baya (1931-1985) falls somewhere between naive art and art brut. An orphan, she was incredibly precocious. Her gouaches, exhibited by Aimé Maeght when she was barely 16, were also noticed by André Breton, the pope of Surrealism. Her enigmatic compositions are breathtakingly creative.
The "Algérie mon amour" retrospective held at the IMA in Paris to celebrate sixty years of Algerian independence is also worth mentioning. From March to July 2022, it brought together eighteen Algerian artists, spanning three generations. The exhibition featured Issiakhem'sLa Mère, alongside Baya and recent works such as Halida Boughriet's Mémoire dans l'oubli. Boughriet, born in 1980, was awarded the first LVMH Jeune créateur prize. In Algiers, her photographic work can be seen at MAMA.
Drawing
Given the dynamism of the École supérieure des beaux-arts d'Alger, it's easy to guess that Algeria's pictorial tradition is very much alive and kicking, even if you don't see much of it in the street.
However, it is perhaps through press cartoons that we best discover this expression. Every newspaper has its own cartoonist, but the best-known is still Ali Dilem, the cartoonist for the Liberté newspaper, who also draws for the French international channel TV5 Monde.
In Oran, at the café littéraire et artistique Le Manifeste, you can discover many of the works of the city's young cartoonists.
Contemporary art
The 1990s saw a return to figurative art. Hocine Ziani, born in 1953, moved closer to hyperrealism; Moussa Bourdine, born in 1946, reinterpreted expressionism; Layachi Hamidouche turned to symbolism.
The Tadyert movement was formed in 2003 by a group of six young painters from Oran (Abdellah Ouldamer, Saïd Ouslimani, Fethi Abou, Farid Mesli, Miloud Taibi and Cherif Belzina). Tadyert, which means "sublime", is somewhere between figurative and abstract. Bright colors and an abundance of signs define this movement.
Today, painters, sculptors and photographers exhibit their work freely in galleries and cultural centers across the country. Calligraphers continue to take pride of place. One of the most respected, Oranese Noureddine Kour, was exhibited in 2017 at the new Musée d'Art Moderne d'Oran (MAMO). At the same time, galleries are presenting innovative exhibitions such as Hang Art in Algiers, which has brought together painter Fatma Zohra Bouayouni and textile artist Ikram, offering two facets of Algerian heritage.
Photo
In Algeria, photography has long been inseparable from photojournalism. Today, it is the subject of more personal approaches. Among the photographers to watch, Youcef Krache, already famous, compares himself to an image hunter. Lola Khalfa's work is introspective and nourished by encounters. Redouane Chaib, attached to his hometown, likes to capture the contrasts of Algiers. In 2017, the "Iqbal" exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne d'Alger (MAMA) showcased some twenty young Algerian photographers. Some of them, such as Ramzy Benssadi and Fethi Sahraoui, are following successful international careers.
Committed street art
On the streets since the 1990s, Algerian street art is synonymous with the upgrading of public space. Across the country, associations and local authorities are calling on graffiti artists to refresh the country's architectural heritage. Abandoned sites, such as the industrial zone in el-Hamma, are transformed into dynamic meeting places.
Pioneers AKM Crew and AMOHN Crew began by evoking social and political issues on the walls of Algiers and Tizi Ouzou. One of the founders of the local urban art scene, Klash 16, is an eternal protester of political stencils. But if Algerian street art is committed, it's also a feast for the eyes. El Panchow is unrivalled in creating works that touch passers-by.
More recently, Amine Aitouche alias Sneak transformed the Kouba stadium into a work of art. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Algiers, Sneak made a name for himself back in 2015 by exhibiting his calligraffiti. A fusion of calligraphy and graffiti, his art continues to breathe new life into dilapidated places in working-class neighborhoods.
Like him, many graffiti artists give free rein to their creativity on Algerian streets. And not just in the capital! The port city of Mostaganem, 80 km from Oran, or the commune of Boumerdès, located between Algiers and Tizi Ouzou, have some nuggets of the genre in store. When Algerian art pushes back the walls..
