Mahmoud Saïd resigned from his role as judge at the Mixed Courts in Alexandria in 1947 to dedicate his life to artmaking. Throughout his career, Saïd produced a significant series of portraits of women, such as Haguer (1923). The work was exhibited for the first time in a group show for modern Egyptian artists in 1924 in Cairo. Here, Saïd depicted a woman sitting on the floor with her back resting against a wall and staring at the viewer. Contrary to the women from the Westernised local elite, the character doesn’t wear any jewellery and is attired in a simple dark dress with light blue headwear. The Alexandrian painter thus reveals that the model comes from the working class, as she is also posing in a humble manner, her hands clasped. However, he gave this ordinary woman a sacred aspect by reflecting a golden external light on her tanned complexion. Saïd liked to celebrate the lives and customs of ordinary Egyptian folk, who personify the essence of the Egyptian identity.
—Arthur Debsi
