Chafik Charobim (November 4, 1894 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

– 1975), is a well known

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

artist who painted the "Peaceful and Tranquil Egypt of the last Century

He loved nature in any form and his paintings show a great love for the sea, the desert and the people of Egypt. He has left a legacy of over 186 paintings.

Life

Chafik Charobim studied painting at th
Academy of Fine Arts in Rome
He lived in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

for a few years where he painted and exhibited his art. He dedicated his life to painting. Charobim's love of freedom and artistic passion led him to paint scenes of everyday life in Egypt. He painted fishermen, villagers, animals and many of his subjects share with him the love of nature and freedom. His paintings show the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, the farms, children, animals and all the scenery that one finds in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

life. Charobim loved to paint the sea and had a real love of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, its boats, its tourists and its fishermen. His paintings are intended to show a beautiful, romantic and tranquil Egypt where life was simple and people were carefree. Charobim loved

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and lived there for a few months each year. Charobim loved to paint its villages and cafés, its valleys and its people. Charobim advised young artists to always keep busy because he believed a busy artist is a happy one. He also advised them to work hard, paint every day and to keep to a schedule. He used to wake up at 5 a.m. and paint until noon every day.

Paintings

Charobim excelled in small paintings, of moderate dimension, warm colors and exquisite proportions and design. Some of his better-known paintings were:

Egypt

*''Fisherman Resting'', 1966 *''Swimming in Gerba'', 1946 *''Houseboat on the Nile'', 1956 *''Small Nile Branch in Zamalek'', 1954

Lebanon

*''Cafe des Sources Hag Elias Lebanon'', 1950 *''Beit Mary Valley Lebanon'', 1950 *''Douhour El Chouer Lebanon'', 1950

Sources

*''CHAFIK CHAROBIM, PEINTRE EGYPTIEN'' by Dominique Roussel, 2001.
charobim.com
a site dedicated to the work of Chafik Charobim

References