Folio. 65 pp., +7 pp inset of exhibition brief, frontispiece portrait of the artist, profusely illustrated in colour plates, French text by Shafic Abboud, Christine Abboud, Lydia Harambourg, Sophie Krebs, Claude Lemand, Issa Makhlouf, Cardboard colour binding, NEW, Catalogue of Shafic Abboud’s paintings, prepared by Claude Lemand on the occasion of the exhibit at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris from 21 March to 19 June 2011, printed by Galerie Claude Lemand, Paris, 2011.

Synopsis

It was about time that Paris finally dedicates a retrospective exhibition to Shafic Abboud, the foremost Lebanese and Arab painter of the second half of the 20th century. Shafic Abboud’s paintings are a manifesto for freedom, colour, light and joy, as well as being a permanent bridge between the art scenes of France and Lebanon and that of Lebanon and the Middle East. Both Lebanese and Parisian, Shafic Abboud was very attached to Lebanon, to its landscapes, its light and his own childhood memories. With respect to his own wish, it was important that his first retrospective be held in Paris, the city which he had loved, which had welcomed him and recognised his talent. The exhibition will shed light on Shafic Abboud’s paintings, comprising of more than 190 works of various sizes, dating from all his periods (1948-2003) and coming from many different provenance.