In 1912, he joined the studio of Jules Coutan at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He stayed in Paris through World War I, eventually becoming employed at the Musée Grévin under the direction of his former teacher Guillaume Laplagne. Inspired by the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 he sculpted a small maquette of a work called "Nadhat Misr" ["Egypt's Awakening" or "Egypt's Renaissance" in English]. Gaining attention of young Egyptian revolutionaries, a national campaign to erect a monumental version was begun, resulting in an unveiling ceremony of the work in Cairo's Bab al-Hadid Square outside Cairo's main train station. The statue was later moved to a location outside Cairo University.