 Daoud
Corm
Biography:
A Summary:
1852: Born at Ghosta - Keserwan on the 26th of June.
1852: Baptized on the 4th of July and given the Christian name of
Elias.
1870: Traveled to Rome at the age of 16 to study the art of
painting.
1878: Settled in Beirut and visited the neighboring countries,
Syria, Egypt and Palestine.
1893: Contracted matrimony with Ms. Virignie Naaman.
1889: Participated in the Versailles Exhibition in France.
1900: Participated in the Paris Exhibition where he received the
Prize of Honor of Excellence.
1930: Died on the 6th of June at the age of 78.
Sculpture
of Daoud Corm
By the Lebanese sculptor Youssef Howayek
(Collection of the family of Charles Corm, Beirut.)
Daoud Corm:
Was born to Sema'an Ya'acoub Corm in the village of Ghosta, Keserwan in
1852. He was brought up in Ghazir-Ftouh Keserwan, hometown of his
mother. Since his early years, he showed an inclination towards,
drawing; doors, walls, and rocks served as papers. The story goes that
the Jesuit fathers saw these drawings and admired their beauty. When
they learnt that their author was no other than a boy of 10, their
admiration grew manifold. They met him and asked him to teach the art
painting at their school, a request with which he complied on the one
condition of being taught languages, mainly Italian and French.
He then started to draw on canvas, and his works were met with great
success, something that led him to travel to Rome in order to pursue his
studies in the art of painting. It was the year 1870 and Daoud was only
sixteen years old.
Rome:
In Rome, Daoud entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts run, at that time,
by Professor Bompiani, the painter of the royal court. It happened that
when Daoud took his paintings to show to Professor Bompiani at one of
the aristocratic castles in Rome, the servants did not allow him to gain
admittance to the place and threw his paintings on the floor. However,
Bompiani suddenly came out and took a look at those scattered paintings,
liked them and admitted the young painter into the circle of his
students.
In both Rome and Italy, Daoud regularly visited the most famous museums
and painting schools, such as the Saint Lucas School and the Luigi
Atelier. He soon became famous and gained the benediction of his
Holiness, the Pope Pius IX. He asked the pope to allow him to paint him
for the sake of sending the portrait back home to his parents in Beirut,
but the latter refused. When Daoud returned to his studio, he painted
the portrait and though he did it by heart, it came out to be an exact
reproduction of the Pope's traits. The pope was astonished and bestowed
upon Daoud the honor of painting him face to face. The portrait turned
out to be a real success.
Belgium:
Daoud moved to Belgium where he was appointed the painter of the Royal
Family of Belgium at the time of Leopold II.
Beirut:
From Belgium, Daoud came back to his homeland, Beirut, and he constantly
traveled to Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Iraq and Turkey to paint the
eminent figures and governors there and in a great of churches.
Egypt:
In 1887, Daoud went to Alexandria and painted the portraits of the
leading governors in there, such as Mukhtar Pasha the Conqueror, the
accredited Ottoman commissioner in Egypt, the Emir Hassan Pasha, the
Khedive Tufic I, and also those of some emirs and members of the
nobility. In 1894, the Khedive Abbas II invited him to travel to Egypt
in order to paint his portrait, one of Daoud's most perfect
masterpieces. He also made a portrait of the famous Marquis of
Reverseaux, French ambassador to Egypt.
France:
In 1889, he went to France to take part in the Versailles Exhibition.
Eleven years afterwards, he participated as well in the International
Paris Exhibition in which he received the prize of honor of excellence.
He also received many awards and medals from many countries, among which
the Cavalier Medal of Saint Gregory, The Ottoman Medal of Glory from the
first degree, The Egyptian Legion, and the Lebanese Order of Merit.
His family:
Daoud married Virginie Naaman in 1892 and was blessed with four
children: the writer Charles, author of many works, the most famous
being, "The Inspired Mountain" which received the International Award of
poetry in 1945; the painter, George, who participated in many national
and international exhibitions, and finally his son, Jean, and his
daughter, Marie.
His activities:
At the beginning of the 20th century, Daoud founded a modern library in
Lebanon, the "Liban Papeterie aux Cèdres". He used to sell painting and
drawing materials such as canvas, frames, pastel, and Charcoal.
Daoud Corm is to be considered the pioneer of the art of painting in
Lebanon, for he was the first one to teach its rules and techniques,
thus rendering it a science and a style and no longer the sheer innate
talent it used to be. Many are those who were inspired by his art, such
as his son, George, who studied under the guidance of his father, became
a famous painter himself, and received many medals. Jibran Khalil Jibran
is another one of his students. At the age of 15, he was taught by Daoud
the art of portrait painting before pursuing his studies in Paris and
Boston.
Among his other students is Khalil Saleeby and Habib Srour (According to
his son in his book entitled "The Inspired Moutain", the Lebanese
painter, who in his turn, transmitted his art to both Mustafa Farroukh
and Kaissar El-Gemayel.
At the age of 78, Daoud Corm executed one of his most important
masterpieces, the painting of Saints Sarkis and Bakhos mounting their
horses. The length of his painting exceeded 6 cubits and he was unable
to go up on the ladder to reach the top. He thus turned it upside down
and completed it. That was a short time before his death.
This painting represents the end of Daoud's artistic mission before
finally surrendering to death on June 6th, 1930.
The items of information are taken
from the book of Nadine Mohasseb, "Daoud Corm, 1852-1930",
1998, bilingual English-Arabic, 242 pages. The
book is available in gallery Bekhazi Beirut, Ashrafieh - Telephone:
01-321487 Fax : 01-200749
►► Some
of the artist's Artwork
Contact: gecorm@inco.com.lb
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