César Gemayel


César Gemayel (b. 1898 Ain al Touffaha near Bikfaya, Ottoman Empire; died in Beirut, Lebanon in 1958) was a notable Lebanese painter, who helped to lay the foundations of a modern Lebanese art movement.

César Gemayel
Still-Life by César Gemayel
Born1898
Ain al Touffaha near Bikfaya, Lebanon
Died1958
Beirut, Lebanon
NationalityLebanese
EducationKhalil Saleeby in Beirut
Known forPainter; co-founder of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts
MovementModern art

Life and career
Fakhreddine, by César Gemayel

Gemayel received his early art education from Khalil Saleeby in Beirut.

Gemayel was a pre-eminently sensual artist. His themes - the female nude, glowing flowers, landscapes green and red, dances and "dabkés", the occasional epic evocation - are the product of his thirst for living expressed through painting.

Along with artists, Mustafa Farrukh (1901-1957), Omar Onsi (1901-1969), Saliba Douaihy (Saliba Duwaihi) (b. 1915), Youssef Howayek, Daoud Corm (1852-1930), and Rachid Wehbi (Rachid Wahbah)(b. 1917), Gemayel is regarded as a pioneer, having laid the foundations for a modern art movement in Lebanon. These artists established originality and freedom of expression that had never before been seen in Lebanon. [1]

In 1943, Gemayel and Alexis Boutros founded the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts (French: L'Académie libanaise des Beaux-Arts), also known as ALBA.

The artist is portrayed on a Lebanese airmail stamp issued in 1974 in recognition of his contribution to the visual arts.

References
  1. Zuhur, S. (ed.), Colors of Enchantment: Theater, Dance, Music, and the Visual Arts of the Middle East, American University of Cairo Press, 2001, p. 369



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