Ismail Shammout (1930-2006) a famous Palestinian artist born in Lydda. In 1948 he and his family were forced to leave their home and
live in a refugee camp in Khan-Younes, Gaza Strip. In 1950 he enrolled in the College of Fine Arts in Cairo. In 1953, he set up his first exhibition in Gaza and in 1954 his major exhibition was opened in Cairo and was sponsored and inaugurated by Egyptian President Jamal Abdul-Nasser. In the same year he moved to Italy and joined the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
In 1959 he married Tamam Al Akhal, his artist colleague. Their work has been exhibited in many countries around the world.
Shammout became a part of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the Director of Arts and National Culture in 1965. 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 1992 he and his wife, al Akhal, moved to Germany due to the Gulf War. After Germany, they settled in Jordan.
He was among thousands of Palestinians that witnesse the tragedy of being forces out of their homes and towns by Jewish soldiers in order to créate the ilegal state o Israel. This experience was reflected in many of his paintings and it influenced his entire career. He kept his dreams to return one day to his beloved Palestine.
In his artwork he express his fears, hopes, dreams, and emotions.His style was unique and he empoyed symbols of Palestinian traditions and culture visible in his compositions where female figures dressed in traditional Palestinian embroidered dresses.
His work has served not only to document the experiences of Palestinians before and after al Nakba, but also to support a sense of cultural and national pride among a people facing daily persecution and socioeconomic hardship in both occupied Palestine and in neighboring Arab countries. Throughout his artistic career, Shammout never wavered from his dedication to the Palestinian struggle.
Ismail Shammout has the following publications:
- The Young Artist, Beirut (1957), Arabic.
- Palestine, Illustrated Political History, Beirut (1972), various languages.
- Palestinian National Art, Beirut (1978), various languages.
- Palestine in Perspective, Beirut (1978), Arabic & English.
- Art in Palestine, Kuwait (1989), Arabic & English.
Ismail shammout
Ismail shammout´s Work
Sources:
Further readings:
– In remembrance: Ismail Shammout, 1931-2006
http://electronicintifada.net/content/remembrance-ismail-shammout-1931-2006/6067
–Honour Ismail Shammout 1930-2006:Beloved Artist of Palestinian self-determination
