The late artist Ali Al-Kharji is considered the first cartoonist in the Kingdom. He is the first of the creative departed in this field, in which he was unique for a period of (40) years, during which he lived through the stages of development of the Saudi press and experienced most of its chief editors, and he had no enmity or rivalries with anyone despite his movement between newspapers and more than one site.

Al-Kharji (may God have mercy on him), in addition to being one of the first caricature artists; He is considered the first cartoonist published in the Saudi press, and he was a brilliant name alone in the field of caricature art, despite the primitive experience, whether in the art of drawing or journalism in the Kingdom; However, he was publishing and dealing with open ideas in a critical, sarcastic and scathing manner that the Saudi society may not have understood at that stage, as he was directed to ridicule and unease among society due to the scarcity of his ideas and their unity at that time.

Al-Khereiji was born in the village of Ashira, in the year 1352 AH, and he completed his primary and secondary studies in Iraq and was influenced by the cartoonists in Iraq and gained experience from its artists and mastered sculpture as well. He worked as a secretary in the office of the Minister of Transportation for two years, and was sent to Egypt with the UNESCO, and obtained a diploma in basic education - Audio-visual means, and then returned to the Kingdom and worked in the Roads Authority as a technical draftsman. Al-Kharji was also sent by the Meteorology Department, and he obtained a diploma in meteorology. He accepted the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to England - specializing in audio-visual aids, and also obtained a diploma in audio-visual aids from Cairo, with a grant from UNESCO, and then returned and took over the management of the Social Service Center in Riyadh,

 

 and worked as the first director of the Equestrian Club in Riyadh. He also worked as head of the means department at the Deputy Ministry For social affairs, the artist Ali Al-Kharji started drawing caricatures in Al-Riyadh newspaper in 1380 AH, and he started working in Al-Jazeera newspaper in 1400 AH. The shining one in the field of this art, which attracted the hearts and minds of millions at the level of the Kingdom, being the masterful, distinguished, and unique caricature that was considered new in the world of Saudi journalism at that stage, especially since he was the only one who was fluent in this quarrelsome art at the beginning of his artistic career, in addition to his talent and creativity. And his studies and experiences, and due to his good reputation in his field of specialization, Al-Kharji received a lot of attention from critics and those interested in this art because he preceded others. For more than 40 years on the last pages of Riyadh and Al-Jazeera, he published his first pamphlet, a book on caricatures presented by Professor Turki Abdullah Al-Sudairy. By the way, Professor Turki Al-Sudairy, the editor-in-chief of (Al-Riyadh) newspaper, is the first to encourage and sponsor Saudi cartoonists and grant them wide spaces and high financial rewards.

And when we look at the drawings of the late Ali Al-Kharji today, we see that there are various titles, conclusions, and ideas as if they are new by eating, contemplating, reading, and contemplating. This is part of the loyalty to this artist who served his country more than 40 years ago. He is considered the discoverer of the style of caricature art in the Kingdom, and he was a bright candle in the world of Saudi journalism since its inception. He accompanied it with his drawings while he was immersed in his ideas, lines, and sarcastic comments. He began to draw in black and white, and then he mastered the watercolors that accompanied his caricatures and did not affect his own artistic imprint. She is not like anyone else, and he excelled, excelled, and specialized in entering and the details of this impossible plain. I had previously known the late twenty years ago, and he used to give advice and encourage talented youth and guide them to the safest, most correct and most effective way.
Ali Al-Kharji knew how to make his way to be the first cartoonist in the Kingdom, and Abu Nasser knew how to distribute tragedy and black comedy between the satirist and the conqueror despite the difficult and difficult road at that stage, and he was able to publish his artwork and hold art exhibitions outside the Kingdom, where he represented the Kingdom in France in the forties as the first painter Saudi and Gulf Arab cartoons, and he was close to people’s concerns and follow-up on their issues by monitoring their suffering with his expressive drawings that he used to publish on the last page, where he dealt with presenting strong ideas and monitoring the behaviors of Saudi society and characterizing them in a harsh, sarcastic and rare manner in his own way., where he dealt (may God have mercy on him) How the citizen does not recognize the traffic light, how extravagant the Saudi family is, the high prices of dowries, bribery, lack of discipline at work, and administrative corruption.
He was devoted to his artistic works centered on his many talents, whether by drawing, sculpting or presenting programs through television. However, he did not miss the continuation of his daily drawings, and he was the only one who played in the arena and kept up with the Arab painters who preceded us with this experience.
The drawings and ideas of the late artist Ali Al-Kharji will remain firmly rooted in memory and conscience, and if he is gone, his lines will remain that do not know the meaning of leaving, and he is the first to come and leave this art, which has become one of the pillars of the Saudi press.
May God have mercy on Ali Al-Kharji, and may he rest in peace

Report - Ali Al-Quhais