Ammar Farhat (1911 – March 2, 1987) was a Tunisian

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. He was one of the ten members of the School of Tunis.

Early life

Born to a poor family in

Béja Béja ( ar, باجة ') is a city in Tunisia. It is the capital of the Béja Governorate. It is located from Tunis, between the Medjerdah River and the Mediterranean, against the foothills of the Khroumire, the town of Béja is situated on the ...

, Farhat moved with them to Tunis when he was seven years old. He experienced difficult periods in Tunis where he worked in several part-time jobs to secure his living. Farhat began his career as an artist at age fifteen by selling portraits of Egyptian singers to cafés.

Painting career

His initial participation in public showings of his work was in 1938 at a collective gallery. Two years later, he established his first personal gallery at the headquarters of a local newspaper. In 1949, Farhat joined the School of Tunis and won the Young Artist Prize, which helped him to move to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where he became a member of the Parisian art scene. In 1984, he won the National Art Prize. During his career, Farhat was interested the everyday life of workers and artisans. Rural life, reflective of his childhood, was the subject of many of his paintings.

Legacy

He died on March 2, 1987 in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. He came to be seen as one of the most important and influential Tunisian painters. A cultural centre in Béja is named after him. {{DEFAULTSORT:Farhat, Ammar 1911 births 1987 deaths People from Béja 20th-century Tunisian painters