César Gemayel

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

César Gemayel
Still-Life by César Gemayel
Born	1898 Ain al Touffaha near Bikfaya, Lebanon
Died	1958 Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	Lebanese
Education	Khalil Saleeby in Beirut
Known for	Painter; co-founder of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts
Movement	Modern 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.^{[citation needed]}

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