George Bahgoury is one of the most renowned artists in Egypt and in the world. He is not just a satiric cartoonist but also a sculptor, painter and writer. His Exceptional talents and having an eye for details made him very unique among other artists. Most People ask about his name but actually, his father’s name is Abd-Messih and none of his familly called bahgourgy. So, from where this name came from! the name of Bahgoury came from the village in which he was born, the Upper Egyptian village of bahgoura nears Luxor. He was born in 1932 in upper Egypt but moved to Cairo in 1951 to start studying painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek, Cairo. It is there where he met the love of his life, his wife “Nitokriss” who has the same passion in Art.
Bahgoury started his career as political cartoonist in the era of former presidents Gamal Abdel Nasser and Anouar el-Sadat. As he was using the caricature as a mean of expression of what happened during that time in satirical way. After a while, he continued his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris. Bahgoury received numerous international awards because of his exceptional artworks. And these artworks have been widely displayed in worldwide museums in Paris, Canada, Tunis and Amman.
In Egypt and France, George bahgoury whenever he sees something deserves to be drawn, he never hesitated to grab his brush and start painting. Indeed, he is a genuine Egyptian artist who painted hundreds of paintings in his own style. As he seems always in rush or in hurry, but in fact he is trying to capture the moment from his point of view. When you meet him, you will hear some jokes and enjoy a deep conversation at the same time.
This year in the third edition of the international competition for caricature & satirical portrait “CARICATUNIS 2022”. We celebrate this iconic Egyptian cartoonist and visual artist George Bahgoury. His influences and contributions to the Egyptian as well as the international art scene in general, and caricature in particular deserve to be highlighted by worldwide talents.