Mid-length portrait of the young Kahlil Gibran wearing white Arabian garb and grasping a sword.…

Portrait of Kahlil Gibran

Artist Lilla Cabot Perry (American, 1848 - 1933)

Sitter Kahlil Gibran (American, 1883 - 1931)

Datec. 1898 - 1899

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsCanvas: 40 × 29 inches (101.6 × 73.7 cm)
Framed: 47 1/2 × 36 1/2 × 2 1/2 inches (120.7 × 92.7 × 6.4 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase.

Object number1999.23

On View

On view

CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextLilla Cabot Perry did not discover her passion for painting until she was thirty-six, but soon became an accomplished professional artist and a champion of French impressionism in the United States. Her greatest influence was Claude Monet, whom she befriended in 1889. Monet rarely suffered the presence of American painters, but he maintained his friendship with Perry and advised her on her work throughout the 1890s. In this portrait, the soft brushwork and colorful, light-filled cloak reflect the influence of impressionism. Various shades of pink, purple, blue, green, and yellow form the highlights and shadows of the figure’s skin and garment. The subject of this work is poet and artist Kahlil Gibran as a youth of about fifteen. Perry compensated Gibran for the modeling session by giving him a set of watercolor paints and the cloak he wore while sitting for the portrait.

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