Omar Racim (1884–1959) was an Algerian artist who founded the Algerian school of miniature painting in 1939, alongside his brother

Mohammed Racim Mohammed Racim ( ar, محمد راسم, 24 June 189630 March 1975) was an Algerian artist who founded the Algerian School for Miniature Painting with his brother, Omar. It still exists to this day.. Biography Racim was born in The Casbah of A ...

. Racim also founded the nationalist journals ''Al Djazair'' in 1908, ''Al Farouq'' in 1913, and ''Dhou El Fikar'' in 1913..

Biography

Racim was born in 1884 into a distinguished family of artists of

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

descent. whose pre-colonial prosperity had been undermined by the French regime's confiscation of property.. After his studies, and a year passed in

Madrasa Thaalibia The Madrasa Thaalibia (; french: link=no, Médersa Thaâlibiyya), is a madrasa located in Algiers, Algeria. It was founded on 17 October 1904 by Charles Jonnart and subsequently became one of the leading spiritual and educational centres of Alg ...

, Racim worked in the family workshop which his father had re-established as a wood-carving and copper-working workshop in the

Casbah A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territo ...

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

where he engraved decorated tombstones. The Racim family won commissions for decorating public buildings and the pavilions of French colonial exhibitions.. A renowned calligrapher, Racim also devoted himself to a life of religion and politics.. In 1907 he wrote the

Mus'haf A muṣḥaf ( ar, مُصْحَفْ, ; plural ''maṣāḥif'') is an Arabic word for a codex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the Quran. The chapters of the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed during a 23-year ...

of the

Thaalibia Quran The Thaalibia Quran is a mushaf (Quranic manuscript) written in Algeria in the Maghrebi script. Manuscript description The transcription of this mushaf was done in accordance with the Warsh recitation, which is the main canonical qirāʼah, or ...

. In 1912 he made a trip to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

and

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, bringing back with him various

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

's and specimens of

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

illumination. By 1913 he was publishing papers on politics, and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was arrested by the French security for his political activities; initially banished, and then condemned to prison. Released from prison on 21 September 1921, he began to focus his activities in the field of applied arts and traveled to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and France. Alongside his brother,

, they were included in the Algerian hall of the

Pavillon Pavillon may refer to: * Le Pavillon Hotel, New Orleans * Le Pavillon (New York City restaurant), a former New York City restaurant * Pavillon de Flore, a section of the Palais du Louvre in Paris, France * Pavillon de Paris, a large concert space ...

de l'Afrique du nord as exponents of the art of

miniature A miniature is a small-scale reproduction, or a small version. It may refer to: * Portrait miniature, a miniature portrait painting * Miniature art, miniature painting, engraving and sculpture * Miniature (chess), a masterful chess game or problem ...

. Victor Barrucand mentioned that: "The beautiful ornamented inscriptions of Omar Racim leave those of the other sections far behind. In them the artist is able to enclose the mystery of thought in the elegance of the arabesque".. After his death in 1959, he was buried in the

Thaalibia Cemetery Thaalibia Cemetery ( ar, المقبرة الثعالبية) or Abd al-Rahman al-Tha'alibi Cemetery ( ar, مقبرة سيدي عبد الرحمان الثعالبي) is a cemetery in the Casbah of Algiers in the commune of the Casbah of Algiers. T ...

of the

Casbah of Algiers The Casbah ( ar, قصبة, ''qaṣba'', meaning citadel) is the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it. In 1992, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed ' ...

References

Bibliography

*. *. *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Racim, Omar 1884 births 1959 deaths Algerian calligraphers Algerian writers Algerian people of Turkish descent Algerian artists Turkish artists People from Algiers 20th-century Algerian painters 20th-century calligraphers