As Egypt entered the 20th century, the desire for autonomy and agency, after centuries of colonial control, was too pressing to ignore. The artist Mahmoud Saïd, son of the Prime Minister Mohamed Pacha Saïd, witnessed this push towards nationalism firsthand. Recognized as the founder of Modern Egyptian art, he led the Neo-Pharaonic painters and their revival of ancient motifs using modern painting techniques. With vivid portraits of ordinary life and striking female nudes, Saïd strived to capture his country’s identity. Others, like Abdel al-Hadi al-Gazzar, were “rejectionists” who challenged European influence and instead explored daily realities of oppression. A new exhibition examines the constantly shifting narrative within Egyptian modern art, using the studio—or marsam in Arabic—as a locus of diverse stylistic aesthetics and traditions. Over 45 works across different mediums demonstrate the many voices in Egypt’s rich yet unrecognized modern culture. —Maggie Turner