Renowned Moroccan painter and pedagogue Mohamed Hamidi, a leading figure of the Casablanca School and pioneer of modern Moroccan art, passed away at dawn on Monday, October 6, 2025, at the age of 84, writes Le360. Born in Casablanca in 1941, Hamidi was among the first generation of artists to forge a contemporary Moroccan aesthetic rooted in local traditions. A graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Casablanca and later of the Ecole nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he obtained a diploma in monumental art in 1964 before returning home during a period of cultural renewal. In 1969, he participated in the historic Jamaa El Fna exhibition in Marrakech alongside Mohamed Melehi, Mohamed Chabâa, and Farid Belkahia, an event that marked the birth of the Casablanca School, which redefined Morocco's artistic identity. A professor at the Casablanca School of Fine Arts from 1967 to 1975, Hamidi trained generations of artists and co-founded the Moroccan Association of Plastic Arts. His work, distinguished by vivid colors and motifs inspired by traditional weaving, has been exhibited across Morocco, Europe, and the Middle East. In 2019, two of his paintings, Harmonie (1971) and Marie (1972), were acquired by the Centre Pompidou in Paris, cementing his place in modern art history.
