وإذا كان معظم رسامي الصور الشخصية المصريين ينحازون في اختياراتهم إلى علية القوم فإن وجوه زهران تكشف عن انحياز إلى بسطاء الناس . أقصى درجات تأنقهم تبتدى مع كوفية أو طاقية أو بعض الزخارف تظهر على استحياء . ومن أجمل لوحات الوجوه التي رسمها ، وجه المعلم ( كمال ) . يرتدى صاحبه الجلباب البلدي ، ويزين رقبته بكوفية .. ومثل معظم الشخصيات التي يرسمها ، يضعها في إطارها الواقعي ؛ فقد أحاط النموذج ببعض العناصر المعمارية لحي الحسين ، ونجح في خلق ترابط إيقاعي بين الشكل الإنساني والشكل المعماري
محمود بقشيش : يناير ١٩٨٩ إبداع مجلة الأدب والفن
Ibn Al-Balad (The Gentleman) 1985
As a pioneer of Egyptian Realism, Zahran, in his 1985 oil masterpiece, Ibn Al-Balad, depicts a working class doorman in striking harmony with the surrounding urban environment. Kamal is standing in the center of a narrow street in a blue-collar neighborhood of Cairo (the background Zahran used for the painting pictured above).
Zahran started working in Musafir Khana in the late 70s after trading studio spaces with Ezz El-Din Naguib - Ezz El-Din Naguib took Zahran’s studio in Wikala Al-Ghuri and, in exchange, Zahran got his studio in Musafir Khana. Zahran painted Ibn Al-Balad during his time in Musafir Khana, even though Kamal was the doorman to his previous studio.
The Gentleman was on display in the Michigan Capitol in Abraham Aiyash’s office from March 2023 until December 2024.
Within the cannon of global art, there emerges a useful point of comparison between Zahran’s Realism and the American Realism found in Robert Henri’s (1865-1929) work. Unlike Henri’s students, like Edward Hopper or George Bellows, who benefitted directly from Henri’s guidance, Zahran arrived at a similar destination from a completely different path. Both masters found the utility of subtle abstractions of form and color and both sought to harmonize the subject with the background.
Two Point Perspective
Robert Henri - Irish Lad