Wahbi Al-Hariri

(Mohamed) Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai (1914-1994) was an Arab-American artist, architect, and world renowned author.

Biography

Wahbi Al-Hariri was born in 1914 in Aleppo, Syria. He also lived in France, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America.

Family

Wahbi Al-Hariri's documented family tree spans over fourteen centuries. Some of his ancestors include Muhammad al-Qasim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Hariri known as Al-Hariri of Basra the 11th Century poet and philosopher, author of the "Maqamat al-Hariri" ("The Assemblies of al-Hariri") named after him, Ali Al-Hariri-Rifai, the 13th Century theologian, Mustapha Al-Hariri-Rifai the 18th Century musician and theologian, and Abdelrahman Al-Hariri-Rifai the 19th century calligrapher and astronomer.

Accademia di Belle Arti, Rome

Wahbi Al-Hariri began drawing and sculpting as a child. Recognizing his talent, his father furthered his exceptional artistic development and encouraged him in 1932 to be one of the first known contemporary Middle Easterner to travel to Italy to formally study art. In 1937, he graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti and the Istituto di Dante Alghieri in Rome.

Early Years and the French Mandate

Upon his return to Syria, his artistic work evolved to include sculptures, oil paintings, and photography. He also became actively engaged in archeology and was instrumental in the early efforts to preserve the historic ruins of the city of Palmyra. His studio was located in the heart of Aleppo’s old city, "medinah", where it occupied several grand rooms on the second floor of an ancient home near the Citadel, "al-qual’ah". During that time, his studio became an artistic and social rallying center, a much-sought after social salon (gathering) and a cauldron of opposition to France’s colonial presence in the Middle East. Wahbi Al-Hariri was widely known for his outspoken and defiant attitude toward the French occupation, and in pointed retaliation the French colonial forces burned his studio just before an art exhibition. As a result, most of his work from this period was destroyed, and only a small collection of his early large oil paintings, portraits, and sculptures survived.

During this time in Syria Wahbi Al-Hariri taught at Aleppo's elite "Tajhiz" college where he mentored and inspired a generation of Syrian artists including Fateh Moudarres, Louay Kayali, Taleb Yazgi, and Mohammed Fathi Kabawah.

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts

In 1948, two years after Syria’s independence from France (the French Mandate of Syria), his talent won him a scholarship to Yale University, but his artistic drive took him to Paris instead to study art and architecture at the world-renowned École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts (ENSB-A) and historic preservation at the Louvre. In 1954, Wahbi Al-Hariri received his D.P.L.G. with honors and was awarded the highly coveted Beaux-Arts Bronze Medal of Distinction. After returning from France to Syria he immersed himself in his artistic work, wrote extensively, taught, and won several architectural competitions. However, his hopes became frustrated by the growing sense of national unease and the political instability that was rocking the country. In 1965, a military coup caused the cancellation of a large exhibit of his work and the arrest of some of his acquaintances.

Saudi Arabia

After a friend’s invitation to visit Saudi Arabia, Wahbi Al-Hariri grew enamored with the Arabian peninsula's still pristine vistas and was inspired by the many facets of its little-known heritage. Consequently in 1965 he decided to move to the Kingdom.In 1981, after an intensive period of research, travel, and on-site work in some of the Kingdom’s most remote areas, he completed an important collection of large graphite drawings illustrating Arabia’s significant architectural heritage.Subsequently, a full-size facsimile edition of this collection, entitled "Traditional Architecture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia", was published in Florence, Italy, with the assistance of his son, Mokhless Al-Hariri.
[
Wahbi Al-Hariri and his son, Mokhless, Washington, D.C., 1982] Copies of the book can be found in Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Library at Buckingham Palace, the library of Emperor Akihito of Japan, at The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and at the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.

The publication of this hand-printed art collector's folio brought about worldwide recognition of his classical artistic work and culminated with a 1984 one-man exhibit of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. With it, he became the "first" living artist to be honored with a one-man show of his work at the Smithsonian. The exhibit subsequently went on a tour of several other American museums.

From Spain to China

[
Great Mosque of Xian, Huajue Xiang, China]

During the last ten years of his life, his spiritual drive and classical artistic talent, coupled with the extraordinary participation of his wife, Widad Marachi—and the earnest encouragements of numerous friends, scholars, and dignitaries throughout the world—inspired him to travel from Spain to China to identify and document the most significant historic mosques of the world. Despite a four-year battle with cancer, he was able to produce in record time a body of work that features over forty historic mosques. The collection known as "The Spiritual Edifices of Islam", was completed with the assistance of his son Mokhless Al-Hariri, and embodies the final evolution of his distinctive classical yet contemporary style.

Death and Legacy

Wahbi Al-Hariri died on August 16, 1994, in Aleppo, Syria, the birthplace he had not visited for almost twenty years. Until the end he overtly maintained an optimistic view of his condition and remained driven and inspired by an unyielding thirst for "knowledge and constant search for beauty."

Following his death at the age of 80, a large number of his early oil paintings, watercolors, and photographs—some dating back to 1933—were found after having been saved from his initial studio fire. Several pieces underwent extensive restorations and some became part of the traveling exhibit entitled "The Spiritual Edifices of Islam".

Janet McMahon's 1994 obituary in "The Washington Report" reads:

"Wahbi Al-Hariri-Rifai, a distinguished artist known as "the last of the classicists," died [...] at the age of 80. He was the first Middle Easterner to study art formally in Italy and the first Muslim Arab to be awarded France's Beaux Arts Medal of Distinction. [...] " [ [http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1194/9411110.htm Bulletin Board: Conferences and Lectures ] ]

Recognition

In 1991, in addition to numerous other international citations and honors, the government of France further recognized his artistic achievements by awarding him the highly regarded distinction of "Chevalier" of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters). [Letter of nomination (see image) [
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, 1990] ]

The Spiritual Edifices of Islam: Traveling Exhibit

Also known in Arabic as the "Buyut Allah" exhibit, the show made its 1999 world debut at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In 2002-2003 it was also shown at other world-class venues such as the National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman (Jordan) [ [http://www.jordanhere.com/events/exhibitions/nov21_artgallery.htm Art Gallery - Enjoy the Events Placed on Jordanhere.com ] ] , the National Museum in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), the Beit al-Quran Museum in Manama (Bahrain), and the Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) [ [http://www.virtualmalaysia.com/event/event_view.cfm?event_id=E5E01C43-F05F-4634-9B25029B7C871C7B VirtualMalaysia.Com - The Official e-Tourism Portal for The Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia ] ] where in response to the public’s interest the show was extended from one to four months.

"The Spiritual Edifices of Islam" traveling exhibit includes two collections:The Historic Mosques collection and the Retrospective Collection.

Historic Mosques Collection

This group of artwork forms the core of the exhibit and consists of 33 large original graphite drawings, featuring from Spain to China, with great artistic sensitivity, some of the world’s most significant historical mosques. [
The United States Capitol, Washington D.C.] The collection embodies the final evolution of the artist’s distinctive classical style and represents the crowning achievement of his artistic career.

Artist Retroscpective

This part of the traveling exhibit includes a collection of 30 original oil, watercolor, and graphite pieces that form a broad retrospective of the artist’s work. The collection spans a sixty-year period (1930s–1990s) and includes a special selection of works that Wahbi Al-Hariri completed in Canada, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the UAE, and the United States.

Books

"Traditional Architecture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"

(add details)

"Asir Heritage and Civilization"

ASIN: B0007BPFA2

"The Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"

ISBN-10: 0962448303

References