Ibrahim Shahada

Ibrahim Shahda (1929–1991) born in Al-Azizya, Egypt, Shahda began his artistic training at the Cairo Fine Arts Academy in 1947, studying under the French painter Pierre Beppi-Martin. After graduating, he received an award in 1955 and held his first exhibition before relocating to Paris later that year. He studied as a free student at the École des Beaux-Arts and eventually settled in Carpentras in southern France, while maintaining close ties with Paris.

Shahda’s career gained early recognition with his first solo exhibition in 1958 at the Arlette Chabaud Gallery in Avignon, where his painting La femme en noir won the Avignon Festival Painting Prize and entered the Fondation Calvet collection. That same year, he also received the Aix-en-Provence Painting Prize. By 1960, he was exhibiting jointly with painter Paul Surtel, further establishing his reputation.

The 1960s and 1970s marked a period of travel and exploration. Shahda visited Italy, Brittany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain, while exhibiting in Paris, Avignon, Carpentras, and Marseilles. Deeply engaged with the legacy of the Old Masters, he sought to balance tradition with personal expression. His work during this period included portraits, landscapes, and still lifes, often infused with an introspective, timeless quality.

In 1975, Shahda was diagnosed with a serious illness. Despite periods of remission and decline, he continued to paint with urgency, producing portraits of fellow artists and writers, numerous self-portraits, and still lifes. His later years were marked by intense productivity until his death from cancer in Aix-en-Provence in 1991.