The World of Sketches
‘Dancing’ piece by the great Gibran Khalil Gibran from the archives of the Gibran National Committee. There are watercolor artworks, some complete, some incomplete, drawn by Gibran that closely resemble the style of this manuscript.
A sketch is defined as a ‘rough,’ unfinished drawing, the artwork before it evolves into something more ‘complete.’ But then again, is art ever really finished? The artist creates and leaves their creation for us to reflect over, and if lucky, the artist revisits his or her creation, and adds new touches, new layers to the story of the piece.
In Ithraeyat’s 17th edition, we pay homage to ‘Sketches’ and the stories they capture or perhaps, don’t capture. In this special edition, we have the profound —perhaps deep in contemplation— face of a ‘wanderer’ by Gibran Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) grace our cover. Dating to 1931, this beautiful piece perhaps reveals one of the most important core characteristics of Gibran. That in the year of his death, aged 48, he painted a ‘wandering' face, embodying his life long journey as a wandering soul, always seeking and poetically trying to understand the world around him.
Through this beautiful piece, together with other sketches featured here by the man known to the world as ‘the Arab Shakespeare,’ we discover a different side to this multitalented and deep master of words. Are they unfinished? Or did Gibran ever intend to finish them?
Sketches are said to reveal aspects of one’s thoughts and emotions at the time of their creations as they are raw and imperfect.
Taking a step back, what does one see when one views Gibran’s pieces? Other wonderful sketches featured here by renowned figures include one by Zaha Hadid, the Iraqi British architect, as well as timeless ones from the Cartier Paris Archives, and exquisite manuscripts from The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. Each piece by each artist, past and present, captures a style, a moment and perhaps a fleeting idea with a lasting impression as it is finally captured on paper.
Enjoy our latest ‘Makhzan’ of enriching stories.
