Born to a poor family in Béja,[1] Farhat moved with them to Tunis when he was seven years old.
He experienced difficult periods in Tunis where he worked in several part-time jobs to secure his living.
Farhat began his career as an artist at age fifteen by selling portraits of Egyptian singers to cafés.
His initial participation in public showings of his work was in 1938 at a collective gallery.
In 1949, Farhat joined the School of Tunis and won the Young Artist Prize, which helped him to move to Paris, where he became a member of the Parisian art scene.