ALI BELLAGHA (1924-2006)
Professor, draughtsman, painter, and printmaker — a craftsman of heritage and modernity
Descended from an ancient line of craftsmen from the medina of Tunis, Ali Bellagha grew up at the heart of a manual and aesthetic heritage that would deeply mark his work. After a stint at the Institut des Hautes Études de Tunis, he joined Paris to pursue a complete artistic training: drawing, printmaking, and ceramics at the École des Beaux-Arts, regular attendance of the printmaking workshops of Professor René Jaudon, and decoration courses at the lycée Claude Bernard. He completed his studies at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts de Tunis.
In 1953, he organized his first solo exhibition, kick-starting a career that would lead him to exhibit regularly in Tunisia as well as abroad. From 1956 to 1960, he taught drawing at the Collège Sadiki, before opening, in the 1960s, with his wife Jacqueline Guilbert, the gallery Les Métiers in Tunis — a place mixing antiques, contemporary creations, and artisanal know-how.
Descended from an ancient line of craftsmen from the medina of Tunis, Ali Bellagha grew up at the heart of a manual and aesthetic heritage that would deeply mark his work. After a stint at the Institut des Hautes Études de Tunis, he joined Paris to pursue a complete artistic training: drawing, printmaking, and ceramics at the École des Beaux-Arts, regular attendance of the printmaking workshops of Professor René Jaudon, and decoration courses at the lycée Claude Bernard. He completed his studies at the Institut Supérieur des Beaux-Arts de Tunis.
In 1953, he organized his first solo exhibition, kick-starting a career that would lead him to exhibit regularly in Tunisia as well as abroad. From 1956 to 1960, he taught drawing at the Collège Sadiki, before opening, in the 1960s, with his wife Jacqueline Guilbert, the gallery Les Métiers in Tunis — a place mixing antiques, contemporary creations, and artisanal know-how.
A pioneer of a modernist approach to crafts, Ali Bellagha focused on revaluing the Arab-Muslim heritage by infusing it with contemporary accents. He restored nobility to Tunisian craftsmanship — wood, stone, copper, wool, leather, silver — while exploring painting, ceramics, sculpture, restoration, and decoration. His still lifes sculpted in wood and his drawings in bright colors translate a refined sense of composition and an inexhaustible artistic curiosity.
Recognized for his expertise in the field of paintings, glasswork, and furniture, he put his knowledge at the service of the conservation and transmission of heritage. In 2003, he received the National Prize for Plastic Arts. In 2006, he was the guest of honor at the Salon de l’Artisanat in Tunis, and participated in the creation of the ecomuseum Dar Gmach in the village of Takrouna.
A bridge between tradition and modernity, Ali Bellagha dedicated his life to proving that a living heritage is a heritage in motion.
Recognized for his expertise in the field of paintings, glasswork, and furniture, he put his knowledge at the service of the conservation and transmission of heritage. In 2003, he received the National Prize for Plastic Arts. In 2006, he was the guest of honor at the Salon de l’Artisanat in Tunis, and participated in the creation of the ecomuseum Dar Gmach in the village of Takrouna.
A bridge between tradition and modernity, Ali Bellagha dedicated his life to proving that a living heritage is a heritage in motion.
Exhibitions
