Ramses Younan

Place: Minya

Born: 1913

Death: 1966

Biography:

Ramses Younan was an Egyptian painter and writer, born into a poor Coptic-Christian family in Minya, Egypt. He is most known for his work with the Art and Liberty Group, a surrealist collective in Cairo. Younan's work is characterized by his interest in form and space and his aversion to certain aspects of surrealism. He was a regular participant in art salons and joined various art groups before officially joining the Art and Liberty Group in 1939. He also edited the magazine Al Majalla Al Jadida and published his own Arabic translations of works by Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, and Arthur Rimbaud. After Art and Liberty's demise, Younan resided in Paris for nine years where he participated in the International Surrealist Exhibitions and published a dialogue with Georges Henein, criticizing Surrealist automatism. He returned to Cairo in 1956 and continued to publish articles and paint until his death in 1966.