Ismail Shammout | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1930 (1930) |
| Died | 2006 (aged 75–76) Amman, Jordan |
| Other names | Ismail Abdel-Kader Chammout |
| Education | College of Fine Arts in Cairo, Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma |
| Known for | Painting |
| Works | Where to ..? (1953),Palestine: The Exodus and the Odyssey (1997–2000) |
| Spouse | Tamam al Akhal |
| Website | http://www.fununarts.com/ |
Ismail Shammout (Arabic:إسماعيل شموط,romanized: Ismāʻīl Shammūṭ; 1930–2006), was a Palestinian painter and art historian.
| Part of a series on |
| Palestinians |
|---|
 |
| Demographics |
| Politics |
|
| Religion / religious sites |
| Culture |
| List of Palestinians |
Shammout was born in 1930 inLydda. On July 12, 1948, he and his family were amongst 25,000 residents of Lydda expelled from their homes byIsraeli occupation.[1] The Shammout family moved to theGaza refugee camp ofKhan-Younes. In 1950 Shammout went toCairo and enrolled in theCollege of Fine Arts in Cairo. After returning to Gaza in 1953, he held his first exhibition,[2] which was a success.[1]
Shammout and Palestinian artistTamam al Akhal participated in thePalestine Exhibition of 1954 in Cairo. The exhibition was inaugurated by thenEgyptian PresidentGamal Abdul Nasser. Later in 1954, he moved to Italy and enrolled at theAccademia di Belle Arti di Roma in Rome. He married al Akhal in 1959. Their work has been exhibited in several countries.[2]
Shammout became a part of thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the Director of Arts and National Culture in 1965.[3] He also held the position of Secretary General of the Union of Palestinian Artists. He became Secretary General of the Union of Arab artists in 1969. In 1973, he directed an eponymousshort film of singerZeinab Shaath performing her song "The Urgent Call of Palestine".[4] In 1992 he and his wife, al Akhal, moved to Germany due to theGulf War. After Germany, they settled inJordan.[2]
He and Al Akhal, returned to Lydda in 1997.[2]
He died on July 1, 2006, at the age of seventy-six.[2]
Shammout was an influential Palestinian artist, whose prominent style of painting employs recognizable symbols of Palestinian culture and traditions.[2]
Shammout'sWhere to ..? (1953), anoil painting on canvas, is a painting depicting theLydda Death March in July 1948. This painting has attained iconic status in Palestinian culture. It is perhaps the best-known version of his several representations of the refugee experience of the Palestinians. In the foreground, it depicts a life-size image of an elderly man dressed in rags carrying a walking stick in his left hand while his right hand grasps the wrist of a crying child. A sleeping toddler on his shoulder is resting his cheek upon the old man's head. Just behind them is a third child crying and walking alone. In the background there is a skyline of an Arab town with a minaret, while in the middle ground there is a withered tree.[5]
From 1997 to 2000, he and al Akhal painted a collection of 19 large murals calledPalestine: The Exodus and the Odyssey. The paintings illustrate, in chronological sequence, the plight of the Palestinians since 1948.[2]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
