Jean Khalife
La Peur
1976 -
Oil on masonite
50 x 50 cm.
During the first phase of the Lebanese war (1975-1976), Jean Khalife experienced a traumatizing event. One evening, two militiamen forced their way into his studio and held him hostage all night until they left at dawn to execute a planned attack. In the immediate aftermath of this incursion, Khalife executed this painting entitled 'La peur ' (Fear). The terror, shock and despair on the two faces are perhaps reminiscent of Goya’s etchings or Munch’s 'Scream'. 'La peur' was the first of a series of works that share the same format depicting faces, constituting a group portrait of a society in despair.
Reference JK-P-1976-A
About the artist
Born in Hadtoum, Lebanon 1925
Died in Lebanon 1978
Jean Khalifé attended ALBA in 1947. In 1951, he won a scholarship from the Lebanese government and, from 1951 until 1954, he lived in Paris, studying at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. In 1959, he spent one year in Rome, following which he spent another between London and Paris.??Between 1967 and 1969, Khalifé was President of the Association of Lebanese Artists, Painters and Sculptors. While in Beirut, he taught at the Ecole Supérieure d'Ingénieurs, at the Italian Cultural Centre and at the Lebanese University.?He participated in many group exhibitions in Lebanon and abroad. They include the Salon d'Inverno at Galleria Margutissima, Rome (1959); the Salon of the Sursock Museum, Beirut (1962); the Biennales of Alexandria (1960-1966) and Sao Paulo (1966-1971); the Tate Gallery, London (1971); and the Nika Museum, Tokyo (1973).??His one-man shows include: Galerie Alecco Saab, Beirut (1960, 1961), Galerie de l'Université, Paris (1963); Dar el Fan, Beirut (1970); the John F. Kennedy Centre, Beirut (1971), the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (1971) and the Cultural Centre, Damascus.?Khalifé was awarded many prizes including the Lebanese Ministry of National Education Award (1956, 1957) and the Prize of the President's Wife Zalfa Chamoun, Beirut (1968). He was awarded the Lebanese Order of Merit in 1979. In 1982, he was paid a special tribute by the Sursock Museum, along with other artists who had died since 1975.
More info on: www.jeankhalife.com
