The present Google Doodle praises one of the establishing fathers of Algerian contemporary painting Mohammed Khadda’s 90th birthday celebration on March 14, 2020.

Who was Mohammed Khadda?

Mohammed Khadda (Arabic: محمد الخدة‎) was an Algerian painter, sculptor, and writer. Khadda has been viewed as among the organizers of contemporary Algerian artistic painting and one of the numerous delegates of the “sign painters.”

Mohammed Khadda was born on March 14 in 1930 in the Algerian port city of Mostaganem. Khadda built up a passion for art during his early stages working at a local printing press. The sketches and illustrations he drew for the organization’s books instilled in him a deep appreciation for calligraphy and his Arab roots.

In 1936, Mohammed Khadda went to a school in Tigditt, Mostaganem in an Arab neighborhood. In 1943, he got a diploma from the school. His dad wanted him to find a new job when he got his diploma, yet one of his teachers allowed him a year of reprieve so he didn’t need to settle for a job he didn’t appreciate. In 1944, Mohammed Khadda got a new job for a printing organization called “Ain Sefra.” During the day, Khadda would draw and make sketches for the printing organization.

Mohammed Khadda debuted in 1960. His influences included Cubism and Arabic calligraphy. He inclined toward the non-figurative or abstract. He represented a generation of Algerian artists who joined the thoughts of calligraphic legacy and formal language of Western formal writing through Western abstraction through the 1950s.

In his late teenagers, Mohammed Khadda chose to officially sharpen his artistic abilities at the School of Fine Arts in the neighboring city of Oran, learning a variety of new systems, from watercolors to sculpture. In 1953, a journey over the Mediterranean allured his name, and Khadda left for Paris to seek after his artistic career.

In 1953, in many other artists from Africa, Mohammed Khadda traveled to Paris, France to proceed with his education. During that time, he studied under Pablo Picasso and learned the styles of Cubism which significantly impacted his art.

The vibrant Parisian art community passed significant information onto Mohammed Khadda. Studying under prolific artists, for example, Pablo Picasso, he prudently refined his appearance in the years that hinted at his 1960 presentation. Mohammed Khadda’s paintings often displayed a mix of his African legacy with Western styles on canvasses including Arabic calligraphy meshed with his non-figurative abstract work. This particular mix turned into Khadda’s calling card, and he bit by bit came to represent a new genre of Algerian artists.

In 1964, Mohammed Khadda and others set up the National Union of Visual Arts. Khadda set up the Sign Painters and School of the Sign in 1967. He likewise outlined books for Rachid Boudjedra, Tahar Djaout, and others.

Following 10 years abroad, Mohammed Khadda moved back to newly independent Algeria, where he started to develop the ability of artists in his hometown. Khadda and his work keep on impacting artists in Africa and beyond.