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This painting by Marwan Chamaa from the series ‘This is Lebanon’ depicts Byblos, a historic Mediterranean coastal city in Lebanon. The vivid blue sea contrasts beautifully with the bright sky and the warm, earthy tones of the buildings. The architecture, marked by traditional red rooftops and domed structures, reflects Lebanon’s blend of ancient and modern influences.

 

Chamaa’s use of thick, expressive brushstrokes and newspaper clippings adds texture, giving the painting a lively, almost mosaic-like appearance. The soft blues of the sea and sky draw the viewer’s eye to the bustling, colorful city below, rich with detail and movement. The overall tone is celebratory, capturing Lebanon’s beauty and vibrant cultural tapestry. The bold “LEBANON” lettering at the bottom, in purple, reinforces national pride, a recurring theme in Chamaa’s work.

Byblos, or Jbeil in Arabic, is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Known for its deep historical and cultural significance, Byblos was a major Phoenician port and is believed to be the birthplace of the Phoenician alphabet, which greatly influenced the Greek and Latin alphabets. The city is renowned for its archaeological treasures, with remains from various civilizations, including Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Crusader periods. Its name is derived from the Greek word for papyrus, as Byblos was once a hub for the export of this material to the ancient world.

 

Byblos has witnessed the rise and fall of empires and the birth of one of humanity’s earliest alphabets, standing as a testament to the fusion of history, culture, and natural beauty over millennia. It remains a shining example of Lebanon’s rich heritage.

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Marwan Chamaa is a Beirut-born German raised U.S. based artist.

 

His career began in the mid eighties and continues to metamorphose to this day. Throughout his artistic journey, Marwan’s muse has always been his environment.

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Marwan resided in many diverse settings such as Munich, New York, and Beirut. As his renditions of his surroundings have been reinvented in terms of styles, he has always remained true to capturing and interpreting his world as he sees it to his audience.

 

His exposure to the various cultures he encountered, formed him into the eclectic versatile artist he is today. Marwan has the spirit of a global citizen but never forgetting his Middle Eastern roots.

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