Pêcheurs à Rosette (Fishermen in Rosetta)

Mahmoud Saïd showed an intense curiosity about the life of the Egyptian working classes, moving away from depictions of the Westernized Egyptian social elites to which he belonged. The Alexandrian painter began focusing on pictorial topics in the 1930s, reflecting the country's realities. It appears that time has stopped in his painting, Pêcheurs à Rosette, a bustling scene by the Nile, bathed in bright sunlight, with a felucca (traditional sailing boat) floating in the backdrop. The artist's use of vibrant colors and precise brushstrokes creates a sense of liveliness and realism. He presented a scene that appears alien to Egypt's 20th-century modern advancements, which don't seem to have affected the countryside. Pêcheurs à Rosette is a testament to Mahmoud Saïd's approach, which sought to identify the core of Egyptian peasant culture and the traditions and practices that have endured for millennia. The artist found the essence of the country's cultural identity in Egyptian agrarian culture.