Omar Onsi

Omar Onsi (1901-1969) (Arabic: عمر أنسي‎); was a pioneer of modern painting in Lebanon and Lebanon's most renowned impressionist painter. He was born in Tallet Al-Khayat, Beirut in 1901. His father, Dr. Abdul Rahman El Ounsi, was a prominent general practitioner, had been one of the first Beirut Muslims to study modern Western medicine[1] and his mother came from the prominent Sunni Muslim family Salam, who notably dressed in Western attire.[2] He was named after his paternal grandfather, the scholarly poet, Omar, who was well known in Beirut.[3]

Wadia Sabra by Omar Onsi in 1950 ( Reported Missing/Stolen) This photo is taken from the Sabra Archives at the CPML ( Centre du Patrimoine Musical Libanais)

After an attempt to study medicine,[4] Onsi studied painting in Beirut with Khalil Saleeby at his atelier across the street from Beirut University.[5]

In around 1922, he travelled to Amman in Jordan, where he settled for a number of years (1922-1927),[6] and taught painting and English to the children of King Abdullah.[5] His career subsequently benefited from the patronage of the Jordanian King.[7] The discovery of the desert and its colours during this stay in Amman had a major influence on his work.[5][8] During this time, he also documented the indigenous peoples, both ethnographically and visually.[9]

In 1928, Onsi went to Paris to continue his training and stayed for 3 years, attending the Académie Julian[10] and different workshops.[5] During that period, Onsi focused on painting portraits, nudes, and Parisian scenery.[11] While in Paris, he met the painter, Georges Cyr and the sculptor, Youssef El-Houwayek, with whom he became a lifelong friend. He also met his first wife, Ema, in Paris.[3]

In 1930, following the untimely death of his first wife, he travelled to Al Suwayda in Syria for a period of mourning. In 1933, he returned to Lebanon, bringing back a colorful impressionist palette[12] and a French second wife.[11] From then on, his work focused on the Lebanese landscape.[11] A Lebanese woman, known simply as Grandma Kamal, visited Onsi at his Tallet Al-Khayat property in the late 1930s, and recalled that there were many gazelles roaming about. Gazelles featured prominently in his paintings.[13]

He held his first solo exhibition at the School of Arts and Crafts in Beirut in 1932. At that time, the market for Western-influenced art was emerging as the educated middle-classes and elites began to purchase works by local artists. From the outset, Onsi charged relatively high prices for his paintings - 5,000 francs for an allegory, 1,000 for a portrait and around 200 francs for a landscape. However, the landscapes were more popular with the Lebanese elites, and Osni soon began producing landscapes in much greater numbers and began charging higher prices for them. Before long, he was receiving an average price of 500 francs for a landscape. The local press quickly touted him as a skilled paysagiste, a title that soon launched his career.[14]

Onsi continued to travel throughout he 1940s and 50s, and exhibited his work in Germany, Spain, Italy, and Egypt. He died on 3 June 1969 in Beirut, after suffering from stomach cancer.[9]

Along with artists, Mustafa Farrukh (1901-1957), César Gemayel (Qaisarr Jumayil) (1898-1958), Saliba Douaihy (Saliba Duwaihi) (b. 1915) and Rachid Wehbi (Rachid Wahbah)(b. 1917), Osni 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.[15]

After his death, he became one of Lebanon's best-known artists.[16]