César Gemayel
César Gemayel was a notable Lebanese painter, who helped to lay the foundations of a modern Lebanese art movement.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, Omar Onsi, Saliba Douaihy , Youssef Howayek, Daoud Corm, and Rachid Wehbi, Gemayel is regarded as a pioneer, having laid the foundations for a modern arts movement in Lebanon. These artists established an originality and freedom of expression that had never before been seen in Lebanon.
In 1943, Gemayel and Alexis Boutros founded the Lebanese Academy of Fine 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.
