On the banks of the Nile

Often called the father of modern Egyptian sculpture, Mahmoud Mokhtar united the art of his country's pharaonic past with the 20th century to convey the spirit of a newly independent Egypt. The artist aspired to create an artistic language that would reconcile contemporary Egyptian society with its cultural and historical identity.

Throughout his career, Mokhtar drew inspiration from scenes of everyday life in Egypt's countryside and he frequently depicted the fallaha (peasant woman). Au Bord du Nil is a life-size statue that shows a fallaha wearing a tarha (traditional Egyptian veil) and holding a balas (jug used to transport water) on her head. The fallaha was a leitmotif in the artist's output, representing Egypt and the Nile Delta as an intrinsic part of the nation. The sculpture exemplifies Mokhtar's clean, bold and angular lines, evoking the ancient priestesses who walked the Nile's banks.

Au Bord du Nil sends a clear, powerful message in response to the turbulent political climate of the 1930s, when Egypt was under British military administration. At the time, the Egyptian people's desire to reclaim national sovereignty had grown, prompting Mokhtar to transform the fallaha into a nationalist emblem.