Néjib Belkhodja

Néjib Belkhodja (Arabic: نجيب بلخوجة; born Tunis, 1933 – died May 8, 2007) was a Tunisian painter.^[1][2]

Néjib Belkhodja
نجيب بلخوجة
Néjib Belkhodja
Born	1933 (1933) Tunis, French Tunisia
Died	May 8, 2007(2007-05-08) (aged 73–74)
Nationality	Tunisian
Occupation	Painter

Early life and education

Néjib Belkhodja's father was from the Tunisian bourgeoisie of Turkish origin, whose family mainly worked in hat-making. His mother was Dutch and a singer at the Paris Opera. Néjib went to the Lycée Carnot and the Tunis Institute of Fine Arts.^[3]

He was the brother-in-law of the economist Ali Zouaoui.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Belkhodja began exhibiting his artwork in 1956 with solo exhibits in Tunisia.^{[citation needed]} In the same year, he received the Tunis City International Exhibition Award. He continued his career in France and Morocco and participated in many group exhibitions including in Tunisia, the United Kingdom, France, Egypt, West Germany and the United States. He won a gold medal in Italy in 1964 and in Egypt in 1968. Also in 1968, he won the National Award for painting from the Cité internationale des arts in Paris. In 1991, he held an exhibition in Tunis with the Iraqi painter Dia Azzawi.^[3] He was one of the founders of the Groupe des Six, an avant-garde group of artists.^[3][4]

Belkhodja had a particular approach to the traditional architecture of the medina, and his works and paintings have the mark of the specificity and authenticity of modern Tunisian art.^[3][4] He used Arabic calligraphy in his abstract paintings, and shapes from Islamic architecture.^[1][4][5]

Among his works were the designs for several Tunisian stamps.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. Bloom, J.; Blair, S. (2009). Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set. OUP USA. p. 2-PA357. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1. Retrieved 28 Dec 2023.
2. "Tunisie: Néjib Belkhodja (1933-2007) - Un théoricien remarquable des espaces architectoniques". AllAfrica. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
3. Gerschultz, Jessica (2016). "Belkhodja, Néjib (1933–2007)". In Kolocotroni, Vassiliki (ed.). The Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
4. Micaud, Ellen (1968). "Trois Decades D'art Tunisien". African Arts. 1 (3). UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center: 46–55+78–84. doi:10.2307/3334348. JSTOR 3334348. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
5. Perkins, K. (2014). A History of Modern Tunisia. Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 978-1-107-65412-9. Retrieved 28 Dec 2023.