Born in 1931 in a zaouîa in Gafsa in southern Tunisia,
Born
in 1931 in a zaouîa in Gafsa in southern Tunisia, Brahim Dhahak was the eldest
of seven children. Orphaned at 8, he enrolled in the Franco-Arabic school and
later joined the technical high school in Sfax. His academic journey, where
drawing always held a special place, led to expulsion due to his lack of
interest in sciences. He moved to Tunis, worked as a waiter, then a headwaiter
in various French families, all the while drawing and exhibiting with the Tunis
School group.
Supported by the
Italian Consul, he studied painting in Italy from 1958 to 1961 with a
scholarship from the School of Fine Arts in Rome.
During this period, he delved into painting
(under Bartoli), mosaic, ceramics, and especially engraving with master
engraver Macari. Returning to Tunis in 1961, he gained recognition with
exhibitions in Tunis and Switzerland. In 1966, he settled in the village of
Sidi Bou Said, dedicating himself entirely to art.
Dhahak
continued to exhibit in Tunisia, Switzerland, and Germany, gaining considerable
renown. His paintings depicted scenes of daily life, women, Tunisian
landscapes, Sidi Bou Said, and he also engraved a bestiary populated by fish,
birds, horses, and camels. He created mural mosaics for the Gafsa House of
Culture and the port of La Goulette. Awarded the Grand Prize of the City of
Tunis in 1991, he produced significant engraving works around folio-sized
woodcuts. These were produced in his Sidi Bou Said workshop, including
"The Hilalian Epic" in 1976, "The Birds of the
Mediterranean," "The Camels," and "The Fish of
Tunisia." He received the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 1994.