Omar Racim (1884–1959) was an Algerian artist who founded the Algerian school of miniature painting in 1939, alongside his brother
Mohammed Racim. Racim also founded the nationalist journals ''Al Djazair'' in 1908, ''Al Farouq'' in 1913, and ''Dhou El Fikar'' in 1913.
[.]
Biography
Racim was born in 1884
into a distinguished family of artists of
Turkish descent
[.] whose pre-colonial prosperity had been undermined by the French regime's confiscation of property.
[.] A year after his studies in
Madrasa Thaalibia, Racim worked in the family workshop, one which his father had re-established as a wood-carving and copper-working workshop in the
Casbah
A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...
of Algiers and where he engraved decorated tombstones. The Racim family won commissions for decorating public buildings and the pavilions of French colonial exhibitions.
[.]
A renowned calligrapher, Racim also devoted himself to a life of religion and politics.
[.] In 1907, he wrote the
Mus'haf
''Mushaf'' (, ; plural ) is an Arabic word for a codex or collection of sheets, but also refers to a written copy of the Quran. The chapters of the Quran, which Muslims believe was revealed during a 23-year period in Muhammad's lifetime, were wr ...
of the
Thaalibia Quran
The Thaalibia Quran is a mushaf (Quranic manuscript) written in Algeria in the Maghrebi script.
Manuscript description
The transcription of this mushaf was done in accordance with the Warsh recitation, which is the main canonical qirāʼah, o ...
. In 1912, he made a trip to Egypt and Syria, bringing back with him various
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
s and specimens of Arabic illumination. By 1913, he was publishing papers on politics, and during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
was arrested by the French security for his political activities; initially banished, and then condemned to prison.
Released from prison on 21 September 1921, he began to focus his activities in the field of applied arts and traveled to Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, and France. Alongside his brother,
Mohammed Racim, they were included in the Algerian hall of the
Pavillon de l'Afrique du nord as exponents of the art of
miniature.
Victor Barrucand mentioned that: "The beautiful ornamented inscriptions of Omar Racim leave those of the other sections far behind. In them the artist is able to enclose the mystery of thought in the elegance of the arabesque".
[.]
After his death in 1959, he was buried in the
Thaalibia Cemetery of the
Casbah of Algiers
The Casbah of Algiers, commonly referred to as the Casbah (Arabic: القصبة, Al-qaṣabah, meaning "citadel"), corresponds to the old town or Medina quarter, medina of Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is a historic district that has been l ...
.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Racim, Omar
1884 births
1959 deaths
Algerian calligraphers
Algerian writers
Algerian people of Turkish descent
Turkish artists
Artists from Algiers
20th-century Algerian painters
20th-century calligraphers