Wahbi al-Hariri

In May 2012, the National Museum of Saudi Arabia hosted an exhibition titled From Washington to Riyadh: A Collection of Artwork by Wahbi al-Hariri-Rifai. The exhibition featured "fifty graphite, watercolor, and pastel drawings depicting the architectural heritage of Saudi Arabia and historic monuments of Washington, D.C."

"My last meeting with him was one month before his death" writer Lisa Kaaki recalled in an article she wrote for Arab News in 2002; she wrote that she "remembered the unique journey which took him from Spain to China, looking for the most significant mosques in the world." She expressed that she "was both relieved and deeply moved when [she] earned that the drawings of the mosques were part of an exhibition at the National Museum in Riyadh."

Also known in Arabic as Buyut Allah Arabic: بيوت الله, the Spiritual Edifices of Islam traveling exhibit made its 1999 debut at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. before an international tour that took the exhibit to many other significant world venues.

Wahbi al-Hariri-Rifai Arabic: وهبي الحريري آلرفاعي (1914 – 16 August 1994) was a Syrian American artist who has often been called "the last of the classicists". As an artist he was remarkably prolific in the last years of his life despite a protracted and painful struggle with terminal cancer. He was also an accomplished architect, archaeologist, and author. His artwork has garnered international recognition and praise both in his lifetime and posthumously.

The finished collection, completed with the help of al-Hariri's son, was ultimately assembled posthumously in 1994 and was named The Spiritual Edifices of Islam as per the artist's wishes.

After a long struggle with cancer, Wahbi al-Hariri-Rifai, "known as the last of the classicists, died ... at the age of 80" on 16 August 1994, in Aleppo, the birthplace he had not visited for over twenty years. Dr. Esin Atil notes that until the end he overtly maintained an optimistic view of his condition and remained driven and "inspired by an unyielding thirst for knowledge and constant search for beauty." A couple of streets in Aleppo were named in his honor after his death. The Swedish consulate in Aleppo is located on one of these streets, Mohamed Wahbi al-Hariri Street, in the Sebil Area. After his death, a large number of his early oil paintings, watercolors, and photographs—some dating back to 1933—were found, having been apparently saved from the initial studio fire that destroyed much of his other works of that period. After undergoing extensive restoration several pieces were included in a retrospective collection and were shown to the public as part of a travelling exhibition of al-Hariri's art.

In 1991, in addition to other international citations and honors, France further recognized his artistic achievements by awarding him the highly regarded distinction of chevalier of the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

During his time in Saudi Arabia al-Hariri also published two other books that documented Saudi Arabia's culture and heritage, Asir: Heritage and Civilization, published in 1987, and The Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, published in 1990. Both featured "extensive" color photography and were co-authored with al-Hariri's son, Mokhless. Many sites documented by the books have been subject to changes from development, vandalism, or other external influences and as such the book has been used as a primary source for studies of ancient Arabian history. The Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the product of "15 years of travel ... as well as the product of an endless cycle of research, review, and evaluation." The book was featured in reviews by national newspapers, such as the Los Angeles Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Copies of the book can also be found in the collections of The Library of Congress, the Royal Library at Buckingham Palace, the library of Emperor Akihito of Japan, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, as well as several other libraries worldwide. The publication of this hand-printed art collector's folio brought about worldwide recognition of his artistic work. Select drawings were exhibited at several American venues, including the 1982 World's Fair and the Southern Arts Federation. The exhibition tour culminated with a 1984 solo exhibition of the collection at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. With it, he became the first living artist to be honored with a solo show at the Smithsonian. The exhibition was curated by Esin Atıl, PhD, then curator of Islamic arts at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art. The complete collection of drawings, which never before had all been publicly shown, were exhibited from 10 October to 7 November 1984 at the Smithsonian castle.

Washington Post critic Benjamin Forgey, whose full-length feature of al-Hariri's exhibit ran on 22 October 1984, writes that:

Many luminaries and high-profile guests attended the exhibition opening. Among those present, Dr. Janet Breslin-Smith, wife of United States ambassador James B. Smith, "expressed her pleasure to participate in the celebration of the works of Arab-American Artist Wahbi Al-Hariri"; she also noted that it was "the first time that the exhibition is held outside the United States of America since its inception in 1984 at Smithsonian Institution in Washington."

In 1982 the massive book was first presented to King Khalid of Saudi Arabia.

In 1981, with the completion of his important collection of drawings, a full-size facsimile edition of this collection, titled Traditional Architecture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was published in Florence, Italy, by Fratelli Alinari Istituto di Edizioni Artistiche with the assistance of al-Hariri's son, Mokhless, a Washington, D.C. architect and also a graduate of the Beaux-Arts.

Al-Hariri's first major commission in Saudi Arabia was the 1965 design of an extensive master-plan for the new campus of the university in Medina which was executed under his supervision. His design made allowance for future growth and has informed the university's expansions over the years. In his capacity as chief architect, al-Hariri designed and led projects all over the Kingdom. As he traveled throughout the country, al-Hariri grew increasingly interested in the history and culture of Arabia. In the late 1960s the many facets of the Arabian Peninsula's heritage were unknown and, as is possible with fast-paced development, were in danger. Al-Hariri resolved to preserve and document the kingdom's traditional architectural and artistic heritage and in the 1970s he embarked on explorations throughout the region to "document the diversity of architectural styles, building materials and geographic regions that exist in Saudi Arabia." After years of travel and research, "Al-Hariri produced a collection of superb drawings that has been hailed as one of the finest records of Saudi Arabia's architectural past", wrote Helen Khal; his "drawings are more than illustrations of old buildings and historical monuments. They reveal a devotional bond between artist and subject in a creative process." The drawings were the product of "intensive travel throughout the kingdom to draw on location. For months at a time, he would travel to remote towns and villages, carrying with him only his art supplies."

As frustrations with the political climate in Syria grew, King Faisal extended al-Hariri an invitation to Saudi Arabia in 1964. The following year al-Hariri moved to the Kingdom and was appointed chief architect of the Ministry for Public Works.

In 1962 al-Hariri won an important commission to renovate the historic Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque, in Homs, and design its surrounding plaza. The 1960s in Syria, however, were marked by national unease and political instability and in 1963 a military coup caused the cancellation of a large exhibition of his artwork.

In 1954 Wahbi al-Hariri received his architectural DPLG with honors and was awarded the highly coveted Prix du Meilleur Diplôme by the Société des Architectes Diplômés par le Gouvernement. The award, presented with a medal struck in bronze—which was designed for the société in 1896 by Louis Bottée—was bestowed annually upon the preeminent graduating student of architecture.

Shortly after graduating from the Beaux-Arts he won the 1954 international competition for the design of the national broadcast headquarters in Damascus. Later that year he was named architecte en chef, chief architect, of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums in Damascus. During this time, in addition to his art atelier, he maintained a successful architectural practice and organized archaeological and historic preservation initiatives. His architectural work in the 1950s is recognized as influential in contemporary Levant architecture. Alexander Prokhorov cites that "architects such as Wahbi Al-Hariri sought solutions that would reconcile modern industrial designs with national forms." He designed several large projects in the 1950s. In 1956 he won the design of the Adnan al-Malki memorial in the heart of Damascus. By 1959 his reputation had grown such that he was invited by the Association of German Architects and Engineers to lecture on contemporary Syrian art and architecture at the universities of Bonn, Hanover, Hamburg, Berlin, and Frankfurt.

In Rome, al-Hariri trained under Carlo Siviero, a prominent Academic artist. Carlo, who was president of the Accademia di San Luca and a member of the Consiglio Superiore di Belle Arti, became al-Hariri's mentor and a lifelong friend; they would remain in touch until Carlo's death in 1953. Al-Hariri also simultaneously studied archaeology and preservation at the Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell'Arte and from 1937 to 1939 participated in archaeological research and study in Greece. The Alta Cultura course that he attended on the island of Rhodes is that of Luigi Pernier fame.

In 1948, two years after Syria's independence from France, "his talent won him a scholarship to study architecture at Yale University, but his artistic drive took him to Paris" instead to study art and architecture at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, as well as conservation and historic preservation at the École du Louvre. At the Beaux-Arts he was taught by Prix de Rome laureates Emmanuel Pontremoli and André Leconte with whom he would remain friends.

Wahbi al-Hariri was an outspoken critic of the French occupation of Syria and "would often demonstrate against the French such that in March 1941 he was arrested by the French colonial forces and detained for forty days." Undeterred, he maintained his objections and, in retaliation, French colonial forces set fire to his studio destroying much of his paintings and sculptures before a scheduled exhibition of his work.

After returning to Syria in 1937 he taught art at the al-Mamoun (Tajhis al Oula) in Aleppo and also maintained a vibrant studio which also grew to be an intellectual hub. He taught periodic academy-style classes at his atelier, and organized and held gallery exhibitions with other Aleppine artists. There, he also hosted salons that attracted many contemporary philosophers and political thinkers. His work from that period included sculpture, oil painting, and photography.

Wahbi al-Hariri began drawing and sculpting as a child and had "inherent artistic talent and a consuming interest in the world around him". Recognizing his talent, his father supported his artistic development and encouraged him to travel to Italy in 1932 to formally study art. Al-Hariri was among the first contemporary students from the Middle East to train at the Reale Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, one of the oldest and most important academies of fine arts in Italy.

The international tour of al-Hariri's artwork featured two exhibition collections, The Spiritual Edifices of Islam historic mosques collection, and the Wahbi al-Hariri Artist Retrospective collection of 30 original oil, watercolor, and graphite pieces that form a broad retrospective of the artist's work. The retrospective collection spans a sixty-year period (1930s–1990s) and includes a special selection of works that al-Hariri completed in Canada, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States.

Wahbi al-Hariri was born in 1914 in Aleppo, Syria. His documented family tree spans over fourteen centuries and lists several notable ancestors including Al-Hariri of Basra, the 11th-century poet, philosopher, and linguist known for authoring the Maqamat al-Hariri; Ali al-Hariri-Rifa'i, the 13th-century Sufi theologian known for founding the Syrian Rifai order; Mustapha al-Hariri-Rifai, the 18th-century composer and theologian; and Abdelrahman al-Hariri-Rifai the 19th-century calligrapher and astronomer.