Lot 13: * Daoud Corm (Lebanon, 1852-1930) The Madonna of Bikfaya

Daoud Corm (Lebanon, 1852-1930)
The Madonna of Bikfaya oil on wood panel, framedexecuted circa 1890s44.5 x 35.5cm (17 1/2 x 14in).

Provenance:Originally in the collection of the Artist's son, Charles CormAcquired from the above by Asaad YounisThence by descent to his daughter, Mariam YounisProperty from a private collection, BeirutThe present work is a graceful and solemn depiction of the Madonna in Prayer by the forerunner of Lebanese art, Daoud Corm. Famed for his religious paintings, here, Corm selects one of the most pure and intimate iterations of the Madonna depiction, of her in pious reflective prayer, recalling the masterful works of Renaissance virtuoso painters like Sassoferatto Daoud Corm was a highly influential Lebanese painter, a teacher and mentor to the young Khalil Gibran as well as Khalil Saleeby and Habib Srour. Born in Ghosta in Mount Lebanon, Corm and his family resettled soon afterwards in his mother's home village of Ghazir. His beginnings as an artist can be dated back to 1861, when two Italian Jesuit priests discovered Corm's drawings on some rocks. Mistaking the young boy's depictions of birds for three-dimensional reality, the priests were mesmerized by Corm's natural talent and offered him a position teaching drawing at the local Jesuit missionary school in exchange for Italian language lessons. After nearly a decade teaching in the school, sometime in the late 1860s Corm sold several paintings to the Maronite Church in Mount Lebanon to pay for a ticket to Rome to study at the Accademia di San Luca under artist Roberto Bompiani. Corm's patrons were not limited to Beirut and Mount Lebanon. Before establishing his atelier in Beirut, Corm spent a period of time in Belgium after being commissioned by Leopold II to paint portraits of the Royal Family of Belgium. In 1887, he travelled to Alexandria to capture with his brush the leading governors there as well as members of the nobility. In 1894, the Khedive Abbas II invited Corm again to Egypt to paint the ruler's portrait.In addition to his portraits, Corm created a substantial body of religious works, the majority of which were commissioned by the Maronite Church and many of which remain in churches throughout Mount Lebanon. In fact, before Corm, oil painting was limited to clerics in the church, many of whom had been trained by Italian missionaries and clerics at the Maronite College of Rome, established in 1584 to strengthen ties between the Vatican and the region's Christian communities. These cleric-painters, as they have come to be known, include Musa Dib (d.1826), who studied at the Maronite College of Rome, and his nephew Kan'an Dib (d. 1873), who along with Corm trained with Constantin Giusti, an Italian painter who had come to Mount Lebanon with the Jesuit missionaries in 1831. Thus, although Corm's academic style may have been outdated in Europe, his historical significance lies in his ability to forge a local market for oil portraits, previously reserved for religious figures. Moreover, the presence of still life, landscapes, and genre scenes within his oeuvre suggests an on spec market for works on canvas and paper.In 1912, Corm expanded his artistic enterprise and its public appeal when he opened Maison d'Art, an art supply store centrally located near Beirut's post office. The store's commercial success indicated a growing public interest not only in art viewing but also in art making.Corm exhibited his work abroad in Egypt and Europe, most notably at the 1889 Versailles Exhibition in France and at the 1900 Paris Exhibition, where he received the Prize of Honor of Excellence.