Egyptian-French encounters: art and national identity 1867-1928

This dissertation explores the complex dynamic of Egyptian-French encounters between 1867 and 1928, focusing on how the Egyptians — ruling elite and nationalists— used and adapted European traditions for visual representation to serve their own ends. It consists of four case studies—those of the Egyptian exhibition at the Exposition Universelle of 1867 in Paris, the opening of the Suez Canal inauguration in 1869, the commemoration of the Khedivial dynasty with public monuments, and the evolving images of the Egyptian female peasant or fallaha from French costume book in the nineteenth century to a symbol of the Egyptian nation in the early twentieth century. These case studies reveal several recurring themes. First, art was a major vehicle for propaganda, projecting a political message, and later symbolizing Egypt’s modern identity. Second, Egyptian-French encounters were embedded in a complex web of mutual interests, with an audible Egyptian voice. Third, some of the Egyptians and French citizens who crossed borders came to have a dual orientation, and thus became a “hyphen” linking the East and West.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference