Next, he received a diploma from the Higher Institute of Art Education in 1950. Finally, Rafi was granted his PhD in Art History from Sorbonne University in France. He was a member of the Contemporary Art Group founded by Mr. Hussein Youssef Amin. He taught at the Department of Decorative Arts, Faculty of Fine Arts, from 1950 to 1956 in Cairo. In addition, he held several leadership positions in Algeria and taught art history there. Alongside his work as an artist he wrote a series of artistic articles titled “Memoirs of an Egyptian Artist in Paris” which were published in Al-Hilal magazine in 1969.