Mohammad Hosni
| Mohammad Hosni Al Baba محمد حسني البابا |
|
|---|---|
| Born | 1894 Syria |
| Died | 6 June 1969 Cairo, Egypt |
| Other names | Muhammad Kamal Hosny Al Baba |
| Occupation | Calligrapher |
| Years active | 1905-1969 |
| Children | 11 (including Soad Hosni and Najat Al Saghira) |
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.
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.
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".
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Wikipedia