The book *Twenty Drawings* was first published in New York in 1916. In it, artist and critic Alice Raphael engaged with a selection of Gibran’s visual artworks, composing literary and philosophical commentaries that reflected her profound understanding of his symbolism and distinctive artistic language. This work stands as one of the earliest publications to introduce Gibran to Western readers primarily as a painter and thinker—establishing his reputation in these fields before he became equally renowned as a poet and literary figure.
In this new Arabic edition, translator Zahi Rustum presents an elegant literary volume that renders Raphael’s texts with meticulous accuracy. He reintroduces the work to the Arabic-speaking reader within its original artistic and cultural context, thereby illuminating the dynamic interplay between the paintings and the accompanying texts—between Gibran, who depicted the world as he perceived it, and Raphael, whose artistic vision intersected with his and was profoundly influenced by it.
This book serves as a celebration of Gibran—a window through which the Arabic-speaking world can gaze upon one of the most significant artistic and intellectual works that preceded Gibran’s literary canon.
This edition evokes the spirit of Beirut, Boston, and New York in the early decades of the last century—an era when culture served as a bridge connecting the canvas of the visual arts with the canvas of the written word and the poetic verse.