Agegnehu Engida

Agegnehu Engida (1905 in Mahdere Maryam – 1950[1]) was an Ethiopian modern artist. He blended abstraction, expressionism, and surrealism, but maintained a style that was "distinctively Ethiopian."[2]

Biography

As part of Emperor Haile Selassie's education program, Agegnehu was granted a government scholarship to study at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France from 1926 to 1933.[2] After his return from Europe, Agegnehu held many art exhibitions. He also worked on commissions for military uniforms, birr currency designs, church murals and portraits.[2]

In 1941, Agegnehu became the assistant director of Ethiopia's new Department of Fine Arts in the Ministry of Education and Fine Arts.[2]

He died of unknown causes in 1950, shortly after finishing the painting Twelve Donkeys.[3]

Few works by the artist are known to survive today.[4] Two of his portraits are housed in the National Museum of Ethiopia: a self-portrait and a portrait of Aster Mengesha.[2]

References
  1. "ORTMAA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  2. "Continuity and change: three generations of Ethiopian artists". Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  3. "Zerihun Yetmgeta: An Ethiopian Modernist". Archived from the original on 2008-07-25. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  4. Martin Nagy, Rebecca (2012). "Agegnehu Engida". In Gates, Henry Louis; Akyeampong, Emmanuel; Niven, Steven J. (eds.). Dictionary of African Biography. Oxford University Press USA. pp. 112–114. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
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