Giza · Since 1962 · A European collection on the banks of the Nile

The Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum preserves in a Giza palace a remarkable collection of European paintings, sculptures and art objects brought together by the Egyptian collector and his wife.

The palace that houses the Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum was built in 1915 on the west bank of the Nile, with an Art Nouveau eastern facade and a neoclassical western facade. Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil, statesman and great promoter fine arts in Egypt, brings together with his wife Émilienne a collection dominated by 19th century European art. In accordance with their wishes, the residence became a museum on July 23, 1962. The funds brought together painting, sculpture, ceramics, porcelain, precious objects and tapestry. The Impressionists and Post-Impressionists occupy an essential place alongside Delacroix, Courbet, Rodin and other European masters. The institutional catalog evokes eight hundred and seventy-six masterpieces. The selected works show the amplitude of the couple's taste: Monet transforms Water Lilies and London into atmospheric experiences, Gauguin gives Life and Death a symbolic significance, while Delacroix observes the tiger with romantic energy. The "Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum" selection notably compares Water Lilies - Claude Monet and Poppy Flowers - Vincent van Gogh. His reading favors movement.

This collection born in Cairo and Paris testifies to a cultural cosmopolitanism where modern European art becomes Egyptian public heritage.