Occupation Calligrapher Died 6 June 1969, Cairo, Egypt | Years active 1905-1969 Spouse Gawhara Mohamed Hassan | |
Born 1894 Syria Other names Muhammad Kamal Hosny Al Baba Other name Muhammad Kamal Hosny Al Baba Children Soad Hosny, Nagat Al-Saghira, Ezz Eddin Hosny, Sami Hosni Similar Soad Hosny, Nagat Al‑Saghira, Aly Badrakhan, Fatin Abdel Wahab, Leila Mourad | ||
Mohammad Hosni, also known as Muhammad Kamal Hosny Al Baba (Arabic: محمد حسني البابا), was a master calligrapher at the Royal Institute of Calligraphy in Cairo. A pioneer in Arabic and Islamic calligraphy, he excelled in the “Thuluth” school of calligraphy.
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Early life
Born of Kurdish descent in 1894 in Syria to the Al Baba clan, he was fond of calligraphy from his childhood. Famous Turkish calligrapher Istanbul-based Yousef Rasa (died in 1915) had renovated the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus at the turn of the twentieth century. Yousef Rasa was commissioned by the Othman Caliph Abdul Hameed to write the calligraphy of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus during its restoration. Mohammad Hosni learned this art from this Turkish master, Yousef Rasa. Hosni also learned more from Mohammad Shawqi (also known as Mehmed Sevki Efendi).
At the age of 18 years, in 1912, he migrated with his father from Damascus in Syria to Cairo in Egypt. And was later Naturalized as an Egyptian He lived, worked and died in Cairo where he became one of the leaders of Arabic and Islamic calligraphy.
Career
He moved to Cairo in 1912, where he became a master calligrapher at the "Royal Institute of Calligraphy". He wrote thousands of frames for the “silent movies”, book headers and many other publications.
His works were so attractive several prominent persons resorted to Hosni to write their personal and business cards, like Egyptian prime minister Ismail Sidqi (1875-1950) and Yousef Thu Al Fiqar (father of queen Farida) and others. He taught in the Royal School of Calligraphy upon its formation in 1922. His rapid fame brought him in contact with some of the most renowned calligraphers of Egypt; like Najeeb Al Hawaweeni (shown in above 1946 photo sitting second on the right) and Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Rafai.
In 1944, he certified the most famous Iraqi master calligrapher Hashim Mohammad Al Khatat Al Baghdadi (1917-1973).
By 1958, Mohammad Hosni was an international star in calligraphy. In 1965, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in calligraphy in Canada, a year after his death in 1964.
Samples from his work can be seen on several web sites and books including some of his master frameworks and few of his greatest in the "Thuluth".
Family life
In Cairo, he bought a house in Khan Al Khalili and by 1929, at the age of 35 years; he has had his own office and workshop.
He married two Egyptian women with whom he had eleven children; • Eight with his first wife; four boys (Ezz Eddin, Nabil, Farooq and Sami) and four girls (Khadija, Samira, Najat, Afaf). • Three with his second wife; three girls (Kawther, Soad, Sabah).
Two of his daughters became actors and singers. Najat, known as Najat Al Saghira (born 1938) and Soad Hosni (1943-2001) both became super-stars in the Arab world. His household was known as “the home of the Artists.
His son, Ezz Eddin Hosni (1927–2013), was a music composer for some 100 songs, taught his sister Najat music and singing. Another son, Sami Hosni, was a cellist, jewelry designer and calligrapher. His son Farooq was a painter and his daughter Samira was an actress.
Latest
In 2011, Egyptian master calligrapher Khudair al-Borsaidi said he met Mohammad Hosni in 1958 and that Mohamed Hosni was his “first teacher”.
In 2012, Arabic Calligraphy Exhibition in Cairo (organized by Senari House in Sit Zainab, Cairo) showed the original of one of his frameworks for the first time. This particular work of Hosni was owned by artist Hamdi Al Sharif; a student of Hosni.