Alexander Saroukhan
Encyclopedia
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian-Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
/ caricaturist whose drawings have appeared in a number of Arabic and international newspapers and magazines. He is considered one of the best and most famous caricaturists in the Arab world.
Early life
In 1908 at age ten, he moved to TurkeyTurkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
where he studied languages. With his brother Levon Saroukhan, he published a weekly magazine. Later on Saroukhan worked as a translator of the Russian, Turkish and English languages in the British army. At the same time, his caricatures were published in Armenian newspapers and magazines, and notably in the satiric paper "Javroush".
In 1922 he left Turkey to Europe and studied at the Brussel's Graphic Art Academy where he excelled and finished his studies in 2 years instead of the usual 4.
Career
In 1924, Saroukhan left for EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
with more than 125 pieces of his art work. His drawings were published in a satiric magazine called "Armenian Cinema".
Saroukhan presented some of his works at an exhibition in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and then in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in Egypt. Through these exhibition, he met an Egyptian journalist Mohamed El-Tabii
Mohamed El-Tabii
Mohamed El-Tabii محمد التابعي in Arabic was a leading Egyptian political writer, journalist and a pioneer of modern press in Egypt and the Arab World, so much so that he was dubbed "Prince of Journalism"....
. Cooperating with each other, the two became the most important and influential journalists in Egypt for 20 years. Saroukhan worked as a caricaturist for the widely circulated "Rose el-Yusuf"
Rose al-Yusuf
Rose al-Yūsuf ) is an Egyptian weekly magazine founded on October 26, 1925. It is a pro-government publication published by "Rose al Yusuf Establishment" ....
paper where El-Tabii was editor. Saroukhan's first drawing that appeared on the cover of the magazine was that of Rose el-Yusuf in March 1928. From then on, Saroukhan became known as a ‘political' caricaturist.
His fame was also established through his character "El Masri Efendi" (meaning Egyptian Efendi, المصري أقندي in Arabic). However, because of a dispute between Rose (aka Fatima) el-Yusuf and Mohamad el-Tabii, Saroukhan left the magazine and joined the staff of another Egyptian well-known paper called "Akher Sa'a" (Last Hour) which el-Tabii published until 1946.
When Mohamed El-Tabii
Mohamed El-Tabii
Mohamed El-Tabii محمد التابعي in Arabic was a leading Egyptian political writer, journalist and a pioneer of modern press in Egypt and the Arab World, so much so that he was dubbed "Prince of Journalism"....
sold "Akher Saa
Akher Saa
Akher Saa is a widespread Egyptian Arabic-language political weekly established by famous Egyptian journalist Mohamed El-Tabii. He later sold the paper to Akhbar El Yom ....
" to "Akhbar El Yom
Akhbar El Yom
Akhbar El Yom is an Egyptian newspaper which was founded in 1944. It is released weekly on Saturdays. It has a daily edition called Al-Akhbar. The newspaper is owned by the Egyptian Shura Council and considered a semi-official newspaper. Its current editor in chief is Momtaz Al Ket.- External...
" (Today's News in Arabic), Saroukhan moved to the new newspaper and worked for it until his death in 1977.
He established an Egyptian French-language humour magazine "La Caravane" in 1942 until its closing in 1945. He also contributed to Egypt's foreign language press, with cartoons in "La Presse Egyptienne", "Image" and Armenian daily Arev
Arev (daily)
Arev is an Armenian language daily published in Egypt by the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party It was established in 1915 with the first issue published on May 11, 1915....
. He had many exhibitions in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Romania.
Publications
Among Saroukhan's publications is "This War" in which he warned of the coming of World War Two. It is considered to be his finest book as it defined his talents to discover humor in criticism.The Saroukhan style was prominent, independent and famous as he drew more than 20,000 different caricatures – political, social or humorous. Other publications include "The Political Year 1938", a collection of political caricatures, a book in Armenian
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
on the art of caricature, five satirical plays in Armenian, "Our Seven Deadly Sins", and an article "How I Came to Egypt."
He also drew for republications of Armenian humorist Hagop Baronian
Hagop Baronian
Hakop Baronian was an influential Ottoman Armenian writer, satirist, educator, and social figure in the 19th century...
classic "The Honorable Beggars" ("Medzabadiv Muratsganner" in Armenian) and Armenian humorist Yervant Odian
Yervant Odian
Yervant Odian is considered to be one of the most influential Armenian satirists, along with the roughly contemporary Hagop Baronian. Odian's writings, which include novels and short stories, often humorously point out humanity's vices...
classic "Comrade Panchoonie" ("Enger Pantchouni" in Armenian).