Zoubeir Turki (19 November 1924 – 23 October 2009) was a Tunisian painter and sculptor of Turkish origin. He was the younger brother of Hedi Turki (1922–2019). Born in the

Medina of Tunis The Medina of Tunis is the medina quarter of Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. The Medina contains some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains dating from ...

to a family of Turkish origin, Turki studied at the

University of Ez-Zitouna Ez-Zitouna University (, ) is an Ancient higher-learning institutions, ancient public university in Tunis, Tunisia. The university originated in the Al-Zaytuna Mosque, founded at the end of the 7th or in the early 8th century, which developed into ...

and the Institute for Advanced Studies, while taking classes at the Tunis Institute of Fine Arts in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. In 1946, he held a position in the administration before being recruited by French schools to teach

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. In 1952, he was forced into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

for having participated in the actions of the Tunisian nationalist movement

Neo-Destour The New Constitutional Liberal Party (, '; French language, French: ''Nouveau Parti libéral constitutionnel''), most commonly known as Neo Destour, was a Tunisian political party founded in 1934 in Dar Ayed, the house of independence activist Ah ...

. He settled in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, from 1953 to 1958, where he joined the Academy of Fine Arts in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

. He went back to

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

in 1958, two years after the country's independence where he resumed contact with the School of Tunis which he was a founding member of and served as senior official in the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

. His administrative and political associations continued to increase, he became the president of several associations and unions, including the National Union of plastic and graphic arts, the Cultural Commission of the city of Tunis, and the Union of Plastic Artists Arab Maghreb. He founded and directed the Center for Living Art and the Belvedere; furthermore, on the political front, he was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

in 1979 and a municipal councilor for the city of Tunis. Turki paintings drew their inspiration in matters of

Tunisian culture Tunisian culture is a product of more than three thousand years of history and an important Multiculturalism, multi-ethnic influx. History of Tunisia, Ancient Tunisia was a major civilization crossing through history; different cultures, civili ...

and its traditions, portraying characters and scenes of everyday Tunis. Building a collective memory of Tunisia made his work a unique style which earned him international recognition. The critical Louati Ali said in a book dedicated to modern art that Turki is undoubtedly the most popular artist in the history of the artistic movement in Tunisia. Turki was also a sculptor; he made the bronze statue of

Ibn Khaldun Ibn Khaldun (27 May 1332 – 17 March 1406, 732–808 Hijri year, AH) was an Arabs, Arab Islamic scholar, historian, philosopher and sociologist. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest social scientists of the Middle Ages, and cons ...

, erected on

Avenue Habib Bourguiba Avenue Habib Bourguiba () is the central thoroughfare of Tunis, and the historical political and economic heart of Tunisia. It is named for Habib Bourguiba, the first President of Tunisia and the national leader of the Tunisian independence movemen ...

, where the School of Tunis was founded in 1949. He also created the

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

in the lobby of the House of Tunisian radio. On October 23, 2009, Turki died at the age of 84, After several months of hospitalization, he was buried the next day at the Djellaz Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turki, Zoubeir 1924 births 2009 deaths Tunisian people of Turkish descent 20th-century Tunisian painters Tunisian nationalists Tunisian painters Tunisian sculptors University of Ez-Zitouna alumni Tunis Institute of Fine Arts alumni Tunisian expatriates in Sweden