,transcriber's ,notes3      ,underscores
 80 before and after a word or phrase   
indicate italics      in the original   
text4    ,small capitals have been      
converted to ,,solid capitals4    ,old  
or antiquated spellings have been       
preserved4    ,typographical errors have
 been silently corrected but other      
variations      in spelling and         
punctuation remain unaltered4           
,illustration    ,,towards ,,the        
,,infinite1 ,frontispiece               
,,twenty ,,drawings                     
,,by ,,kahlil ,,gibran                  
,,with ,,an ,,introductory ,,essay ,,by 
,,alice ,,raphael                       
,illustration                           
,,new ,,york                            
,,alfred  ,a  ,,knopf                   
,,mcmxix                                
,,copyright1 #aiai1 ,,by                
,,alfred ,a4 ,,knopf1 ,,inc4            
,,printed ,,in ,,the ,,united ,,states  
,,of ,,america          ,,plates        
,towards the ,infinite1 ,frontispiece   

,the ,greater ,self    ,the ,blind      
,the ,mountain    ,flight    ,centaur   
and ,child    ,uplifted    ,the ,rock   
,the ,waterfall    ,the ,burden    ,the 
,great ,longing    ,veiled ,face        
,crucified    ,compassion    ,the       
,triangle    ,the ,struggle    ,the     
,great ,aloneness    ,woman ,with       
,garment    ,mother and ,child          
,innermost          ,,on ,,the ,,art    
,,of ,,kahlil ,,gibran      8,the lives 
of former generations are a lesson to   
posterity40 ,this  quotation from the   
volume which is currently accepted as   
the  masterpiece of ancient ,arabic     
literature1 ,the ,thousand and ,one     
,nights1  serves in a slightly          
paraphrased form as a fitting           
introduction to the  work of the most   
authoritative artist and poet of modern 
,arabia--,kahlil  ,gibran4    ,in the   
near ,east there are over a hundred     
million whose native language  is       
,arabic and the poetry of ,gibran has   
become so incorporated with the         

national traditions of these people that
 one is not quoting lightly  in saying  
that 8the works of the present          
generation are a lesson to  posterity40 
,but ,gibran the poet1 who has been     
known to the ,arabian  world of letters 
as poet1 critic and historian for       
twenty-four years1  has already been    
introduced to the ,english reading      
public by his book  8,the ,madman10 a   
collection of poems and parables1 some  
translated by  him for his own works in 
,arabic and others written directly in  
,english  with an admirable fluency and 
command of the ,western tongue4    ,it  
is ,gibran the painter whose drawings   
are now being brought to the  attention 
of his ,american audience and the       
following interpretation of  his art    
will perhaps serve as a clue to the ever
 entrancing mystery of  the harmonies   
and dissonances which exist between the 
,east and the ,west4    ,kahlil ,gibran 
was born in ,mt4 ,lebanon and although  
he has deliberately  chosen to identify 

himself with the new world and its      
surging problems1  his affiliations with
 ,syria form such a vital part of his   
life that  in this instance it seems as 
if the links between the old world and  
the new were admirably forged and       
adequately tempered4 ,despite the  fact 
that he feels himself to be essentially 
a ,syrian and that he is  acclaimed as  
the authoritative spokesman for the     
,arabic people in the  allied arts1     
,gibran belongs to the world outside of 
nationalistic  interests and his art is 
a product of a deep sympathy with the   
problems  which constitute the moving   
current of life in all nations and      
throughout all ages4 ,his poetry is a   
blend of ancient imagery coupled  with  
the poignant irony of modern            
introspection1 and his painting is  also
 a product of the abundant phantasies of
 the ,orient set forth with  as         
scrupulous a perfection of technique as 
the ,west has ever produced4    ,it is  
this blend of the poet and the painter  

which makes his work  stand apart from  
the modern poetry of the ,east which we 
have come  to know in the work of       
,tagore for instance1 and which         
separates his  painting from the        
traditional conception of ,oriental art4
 ,for ,gibran1  in spite of his filial  
allegiance to ,syria1 is a citizen of   
the land  of ,cosmopolis--that ever     
moving realm1 somewhat like the fabled  
island  of ,atlantis1 which belongs to  
all times and to no particular place2 so
  that ,gibran1 besides being the most  
widely read poet of modern ,arabia1  is 
also closely affiliated with ,paris4    
,there he worked with ,rodin  and he    
exhibited at the ,salon a series of     
portraits1 which included  ,debussy1    
,rostand1 ,sarah ,bernhardt1 and ,rodin 
himself1 who said3 8,i know  of no one  
else in whom drawing and poetry are so  
linked together as to  make him a new   
,blake40    ,his sensitive appreciation 
of the interrelation of the arts enables
 him  to be the spokesman for the genius

 of the ,arabic people to whom the      
,western world owes a debt which it is  
only beginning now to appreciate1  and  
no poet of former generations has done  
more to bring about a closer            
understanding between the ,east and the 
,west than ,kahlil ,gibran4    ,tagore1 
for instance1 belongs exclusively to    
,india4 ,whether we read  him or        
not--whether we incorporate his work    
with that of other modern  schools1     
nevertheless this does not affect the   
value of ,tagore to  ,india4 ,for he has
 not lived in the land of ,cosmopolis   
nor does he lend  his interests to the  
new era in western literature4 ,but     
,gibran has  chosen to co-operate with  
,western arts and letters and his faith 
in the  development of our 8static      
culture0 is indeed a lesson to          
posterity4    ,he has surrendered his   
position as a leader in the world of the
 near  ,east in order to bring the      
traditions and genius of the ,arabic    
people  to the attention of the ,western

 world4 ,and although commentators have 
long since acknowledged our debt in     
literature to the ,arabs1 who           
introduced rhyme into ,europe over a    
thousand years ago1 and historians  have
 admitted the impetus which was given to
 the sciences by ,arabic  philosophers1 
yet it remains the task of a modern to  
introduce us in  painting to the vast   
poetical conceptions which constitute a 
part of  the heritage of the ,arabian   
race mind4    ,kahlil ,gibran is one of 
the artists who are engaged in the      
struggle  between the old and the new1  
or as in other times1 the conflict was  
termed1 the oscillation between the     
classic and the romantic tendencies  in 
art4 ,as a poet1 he is a ,romanticist1  
moving abreast the times and            
incorporating the keenly analytic spirit
 of our age into the ancient  parable or
 the simple form of rhythmic prose4 ,but
 in painting he is a  ,classicist and   
his work owes more to the findings of da
 ,vinci than it  does to any of our     

modern insurgents4 ,thus ,gibran is also
 caught in  the struggle which is the   
besetting problem of the world today1   
the  reconstruction of an era which will
 adjust the imperishable legacy  of the 
old world1 the classic traditions1 with 
the ever evolving1  fluctuating         
tendencies in art which constitute the  
essence of true  ,romanticism4    ,for  
the cataclysm which has overwhelmed our 
world and is causing us  to reconstruct 
our geographical boundaries and         
political tenets1 also  demands us to   
reconstruct our moral valuations and our
 standards  in the life of the soul1 of 
which art is one of the most profound   
manifestations4 ,and as we think back   
upon the destruction which has          
separated the world with which we were  
familiar from the world in which  we    
move today1 we become more and more     
aware of the cataclysm which has  so    
completely shattered our philosophies1  
dogmas and artistic beliefs4    ,a      
sombre burden has descended upon the    

shoulders of the coming  generation1    
whose task it is to create a world as   
yet in embryo--and1  if our arts are not
 to go down before such inspirations as 
the  camouflage1 and if science is not  
to be prostituted to such creations  as 
the tank1--if a nobler expression of    
energy is yet to redeem man  from the   
pit into which his destructive power has
 plunged him1 then in  the period of    
reconstruction he must insensibly turn  
to new and more  vital forms of         
self-expression4 ,religion in the       
traditional meaning can  no longer lift 
him out of the rut of his suffering and 
only in another  form of expression     
which will portray the realities of the 
soul  devoutly1 either in terms of art1 
science or social creeds1 will he be    
able to effect a transition between the 
death agony of the old world  and the   
travail of the new4    ,but even in this
 dark traverse through which we are     
passing in an  effort to win a newer    
life as our own1 we are aware of certain

  germinating influences which already  
foreshadow the art of the future1  so   
that the productions of an artist can   
never be evaluated in terms  of         
self-expression alone but must be       
measured by their relation to the       
organic processes of which they are an  
integral part4    ,to the interpretive  
mind1 for instance1 the destruction of  
,carthage  cannot be judged as a        
pyrotechnical display of military       
prowess1 for  that which is significant 
was the impetus of change which that act
  gave to civilization4 ,with the       
importation of the cult of ,cybele1 the 
great ,mother1 ,rome was placed in      
direct communication with the ,east  and
 a contact between the modern and the   
ancient world was firmly  established4  
,eventually1 the religion and the art of
 the ,east not  only acquired a         
foothold1 but became an integral part of
 later ,roman  culture1 so that ,rome   
was conquered by that which centuries   
before  it had set out to subdue4 ,the  

,romans set out to conquer a rival and  
brought back the religion and thereby   
much of their rival's system of  power4 
,in this way a process which on the     
surface was nationalistic  became       
fundamentally a part of the organic     
evolution of civilization1  which       
redirected the cultural processes of a  
nation and eventually of  what was1     
then1 the modern world4    ,thus the    
term modern loses its coin value when we
 see how lightly  it can be shifted from
 era to era1 denoting certain types of  
ideas  rather than periods of time4 ,for
 the life of the inner world is  without
 boundaries other than personal         
limitations1 without national  or       
particularistic interests other than    
those we voluntarily adopt4  ,we shift  
our emotional contents upon a word like 
8,spartacide0 and it  becomes a modern  
equivalent2 it is at once cut adrift    
from its original  connotation and it   
becomes vitally related to our own      
interests and  feelings4 ,in short the  

word1 the symbol flashes the past to    
life and  passes on to meaning into the 
present in order to stimulate the mind  
to  seek out new intellectual pastures4 
,for the soul is occupied with but a few
 problems and these are  singularly few4
 ,life in its elemental functioning is  
but a  transformation of the processes  
of ,birth1 ,love and ,death4 ,the hunger
 of  the appetites and the hunger of    
possession2 the desire for adventure    
and the fear of the unknown2 to love and
 to be loved2 out of these  essential   
simplicities1 man has erected the vast  
complexities of life  and to these      
essential simplicities the artist must  
return who seeks  a new means of        
expression amidst the clutter of        
religions1 arts and  moralities4        
,those who have witnessed the           
disintegration of a world can no longer 
find satisfaction in objective painting4
 ,what has the art of ,messonier  to say
 to a man who has lived in a trench8    
,what has the art of ,watteau  to offer 

to men who have experienced shrapnel or 
the submarine8 ,we  know that ,veronese 
worked amidst the voluptuous realities  
which he  depicted2 we know that        
,watteau phantasied the shepherd and    
shepherdess  exquisitely1 but to us this
 type of painting is merely interesting 
because of its historic value4          
,intrinsically1 it has no message to    
offer us4    ,it is at this point in art
 that symbolism reveals itself as the   
interrelating principle between the life
 of the soul and objective  life2 that  
is to say that just as the symbol of the
 word is the  interchanging coin between
 ancient and modern concepts1 so in art1
 the  symbolic meaning is the           
interchanging medium between the modern 
and the  antique4 ,yet before we apply  
the word 8symbolic0 to an artist we must
  first come to a clear conception of   
its value1 for it is a word which  one  
approaches with hesitancy as its meaning
 has become so clouded by  misusage that
 our mind flashes instantly to that     

group who were thus  classified and then
 to the satirical lyric of the man      
8walking down  ,piccadilly with a lily  
in his mediaeval hand40    ,we can get  
no clearer picture of symbolism in ,art 
than by recalling  that period and      
school which gave every appearance of it
 and yet never  possessed its essence4  
,the pre-,raphaelites for instance1     
attempted  to recreate in their mode and
 manner1 that which was for ever past   
just as certain modernists attempt a    
crude simplicity which was only         
characteristic of primitive humanity4   
,the true symbolist is concerned  with  
the life of the inner world4 ,to his    
eyes the changing cultures of  man are  
merely transformations upon which he    
focusses his attention4  ,whereas1 to   
the ideationist--the objective          
artist--each epoch1 each  strata in the 
history of man is a separate and        
distinct reality and  he occupies       
himself depicting the surfaces and      
planes of the outer  expression of life4

 ,he is in constant relation to the     
present2 he has  no personal affiliation
 with the vast spiritual life of the    
past and  possesses no embryonic        
conception of the future4    ,but to the
 true symbolist life is a perpetual     
recreation and he moves  in a world     
freed from traditions and confines4 ,he 
need not attempt to  escape from the    
limitations of the present by seeking   
the mannerisms of  an enigmatical past4 
,he is in direct contact with that past 
and hence  the future is an ever fluid  
and ever luminous atmosphere2 he is at  
one  with fundamentals4    ,if we       
examine the work of the early           
,primitives we see at once how  deeply  
imbued they were with the essence of    
symbolism4 ,in fact1 they  cared so     
deeply for the spirit of the idea that  
the manner of its  presentation caused  
them little concern4 ,they covered the  
walls of  ,assisi because they wished to
 tell the story of ,jesus that others   
might know and profit by it4 ,to them1  

,jesus was a reality1 not a story  about
 which to make a painting1 and          
consequently it was a matter of         
indifference to ,ghirlandaio whether the
 women attending the ,virgin  wore the  
dresses of his own age or those of      
antiquity4 ,they were the  women        
attending the ,virgin and that which has
 given the ,santa ,maria  ,novella its  
lustre1 is the power of a feeling1      
visioned1 experienced1  grasped--and    
then put forth again4    ,however1 in   
the minds of the pre-,raphaelites1 the  
vision was most  assiduously cultivated4
 ,their very pre-occupation proves them 
to have  been objective artists diverted
 from their proper functioning4 ,they   
did not seek the vision of ,england1    
which would have been their true        
expression1 the sentimental ,victorian  
,england of their day1 but they  turned 
their eyes towards the ,italy of the    
past and became blinded  by the dust of 
the centuries which lay upon it4 ,the   
result was  narrative art1 a beautiful  

and ingenious affectation of the source 
of inspiration1 but the symbols of love 
and sorrow1 of joy and pain  became     
involved in confused mysticism4 ,for the
 pre-,raphaelites sought  not their own 
spirit but that of another1 not the     
meaning within but  that lying as far   
away as possible--in fact the more      
remote it was1  the more they sought it4
 ,they reproduced instead of creating1  
and  they have given us beautiful       
stories1 beautiful pictures1 beautiful  
ideas--everything except that which can 
never be reproduced1 and that  is the   
spirit of their own age4    ,in the     
separation of the symbolist from the    
ideationist1 the art of the  ,east is   
most concisely divided from the art of  
the ,west4 ,to the ,east  the lotus is a
 flower1 but also a symbol of divinity2 
to the ,west it is  a flower developing 
into the acanthus design and completing 
the circle1  it becomes a decoration1   
and so again only a flower4 ,again the  
earth1  the sun1 the sea1 that which is 

above1 and that which lies beneath1 are 
to the ,western mind1 materials of study
 to be touched1 represented1  understood
 and grasped4 ,but to the ,east1 it     
suffices that these things  are and will
 be eternally1 and that behind these    
realities which we  visualize and know1 
lie other and again other forces and    
experiences1  other suns1 other seas1   
melting mysteriously into one another as
 the  leaves of the lotus4    ,it is at 
this dividing line of ,east and ,west1  
of the symbolist and  the ideationist1  
that the work of ,kahlil ,gibran        
presents itself as an  arresting type in
 our conception of painting4 ,he has    
accepted both the  traditions of form   
and the inner meaning of the idea1 and  
he exhibits  both a new type of work and
 another method of approach to          
fundamental  truths4    ,the qualities  
of the ,east and the ,west are blended  
in him with a  singular felicity of     
expression1 so that while he is the     
symbolist  in the true sense of the     

word1 he is not affixed to traditional  
expression1 as he would be if he were   
creating in the manner of  the ,east1   
and though he narrates a story as       
definitely as any  pre-,raphaelite1 it  
is without any fan-fare of historical   
circumstances  or any of the            
accompaniment of symbolic accessories4  
,in his art there  is no conflict       
whether the idea shall prevail over the 
emotion1 or  whether emotion shall sway 
the thought1 because both are so equally
  established that we are not conscious 
of one or the other as dominant4  ,they 
co-exist in harmony and the result is an
 expression of sheer  beauty in which   
thought and feeling are equally blended4
 ,in this fusion  of two opposing       
tendencies the art of ,gibran transcends
 the conflicts  of schools and is beyond
 the fixed conceptions of the classic or
  romantic traditions4    ,an           
illuminating beauty informs his work2 to
 him the idea becomes  beautiful if it  
is true2 the emotion becomes truth if it

 is real4 ,he  possesses a singular     
power of dividing what is essential from
 what is  extraneous in the presentation
 of beauty and truth4 ,and he keeps to  
a simplicity of manner in the portrayal 
of an idea which is closely  akin to the
 spirit of the ,primitives1 albeit the  
art of the centuries  has gone into the 
moulding of his powers2 but in his      
statements he is  simple1 almost        
instinctively simple4 ,in fact1 he may  
be described as an  intuitive artist--as
 that type of artist whose feeling is   
like the  divining rod which leads down 
to shafts of golden values and who does 
not obfuscate his mind with intellectual
 conceptions of what or how he  should  
create4 ,and having followed his        
instinctive flair for truth1 he  now    
applies his conscious powers to perfect 
his finding and to create  his embryonic
 expressions into paintings of beauty   
and value4    ,he needs only a small    
sheet of paper to give us the meaning of
 the  8,erdgeist02 we see a body of a   

woman who rises out of the vast form of 
the ,all-,mother1 carrying in her arms  
man and woman4 ,only the head of  the   
unfolding mother with its mysterious    
smile is drawn in what we are           
accustomed to think of as drawing4      
,there is the story1 interpret it  as   
you will2                               
,erda--,amida--,ceres--,mary--the choice
 is a matter of time  and temperament4  
,the meaning is the same and ,gibran is 
dealing with  fundamentals4    ,but in  
the portrayal of the idea he is         
scrupulously faithful to the  perfection
 of his technique4 ,thus beauty is the  
final arbiter upon  the destiny of his  
production4 ,he creates with intuitive  
feeling then  shapes his work into unity
 with the power of thought1 but both    
these  impulses are guided and guarded  
by a profound love and appreciation  of 
the beautiful which enables him to      
portray that which he has to  say as    
simply and as sincerely as it is        
possible for him to do so4 ,it  is this 

quality of instinctive simplicity which 
makes his painting so  clearly akin to  
the art of the sculpture1 for the       
sculptor1 unless in  relief1 cannot deal
 with anything other than the essential 
idea and the  beauty of form4 ,in       
sculpture there are no accessories of   
background1  no gradations of colour    
values to attract the eye and deflect   
the mind  from thought4 ,very few       
painters have been able to express the  
essentials of life in painting4 ,da     
,vinci attempted it but he was lured    
away from the quest by his love of      
subtleties1 and pupils like ,luini or   
,sodoma expressed the subtleties but    
failed to grasp the inner meaning  which
 held ,da ,vinci to his perpetual quest4
    ,the art of ,gibran is symbolic in  
the deepest meaning of the word  because
 its roots spring from those basic      
truths which are fundamental  for all   
ages and all experiences4 ,he senses the
 meaning of the earth  and her          
productions2 of man1 the final and the  

consummate flower1 and  throughout his  
work he expresses the interrelating     
unity of man with  nature4 ,he shows us 
,man evolving out of the beast in a     
struggle with  another centaur2 he      
portrays the recumbent ,mother crouched 
against a  centaur who holds the child  
in his arms--the child who is already   
one  step beyond1 a conception closely  
parallel to that of ,nietzsche4 ,in yet 
another picture he shows us ,man driving
 or being driven by a horse1  divinely  
frenzied4    ,his centaurs and horses   
have a charm beyond their natures so    
that  they are never wholly animal in   
character4 ,they have a grace which is  
reminiscent of the ,chinese statuettes  
of horses1 with their square  nostrils  
and delicate hoofs1 hoofs that paw the  
air rather than the  ground and stamp   
upon the mind the finest qualities of a 
horse1 its  fleetness1 swiftness and    
strength4 ,so that in regarding these   
centaurs  we sense the beast that is yet
 man and again that man which is and    

must be animal2 we become conscious of  
that evolution upwards which is  in     
itself a miracle1 although there is a   
barrier which will for ever  prevent man
 from clutching the stars4    ,the      
picture of the flying figure suggests   
the sweeping onrush of the  winged      
victory1 man's supreme aspiration2 it is
 symbol of the divine  force which      
impels man for ever onward to higher    
levels of evolution4  ,the study of the 
human body in flight has been a source  
of inspiration  to almost every artist2 
in the ,palazzo ,ducale at ,venice for  
instance1  ,tintoretto has introduced a 
multitude of flying figures into his    
great  ceiling painting of 8,venice as  
the ,queen of the ,adriatic40 ,but in   
all these studies there are certain     
distortions of the human body4  ,these  
forms are either too aspirant or too    
convulsive so that one is  unpleasantly 
reminded of the muscular sensations of  
cramped arms and  benumbed legs4    ,in 
the ,sistine ,chapel however1 the great 

patriarchal paintings of  the ,jehovah  
creating the world1 dividing the waters 
of the earth or  sweeping through space 
to touch the finger of the recumbent    
,adam1 are  all so balanced and so      
benignly reposeful that they convey not 
only a  sense of flight through space   
but the impression of the very weight of
  space which is able to sustain these  
moving bodies4    ,gibran's studies of  
movement are akin to those of           
,michelangelo because  he has arrived at
 a unity of thought and representation4 
,not only is he  the master of the      
symbolic idea which he expresses but he 
has attained  the technical grasp upon  
his material4 ,hence we are not         
disconcerted by  false conceptions of   
the human body or erroneous             
perspectives4    ,his paintings are     
mostly wash drawings and only here and  
there does his  pencil co-operate with  
his brush to suggest and complete the   
theme4 ,the  level of his painting is   
very delicate--plane suggesting another 

plane  in the most subtle gradation so  
that at first there seems to be but     
little colour and then comes a swift    
realization that it is all  colour--only
 imperceptibly diffused4 ,in one or two 
of the studies  like the sombre picture 
of the man with the cap1 more vivid reds
 and  blues are introduced and a certain
 greenish blue1 wholly of the ,east1    
reappears constantly in his studies of  
definite types4 ,but in his more        
profound interpretative work1 the       
gradation of colour is delicate in  the 
extreme4 ,he uses colour to reveal his  
form unlike many painters  who lose     
their sense of form in the pursuit of   
colour2 that is another  reason why his 
paintings are so suggestive of the art  
of the sculptor4    ,this impression is 
conveyed most powerfully in the study of
 a woman's  head1 the frontispiece to   
this volume1 a painting which is the    
most  complete exposition of the art of 
,gibran4 ,the head is thrown back and   
seems to rest upon a white background   

that is yet not exactly white2  it is   
the colour of the sea at an infinite    
distance when colour is no  longer      
colour but merely light4 ,the head1     
lying upon this luminous  ground is so  
delicately delineated that the throat   
veins almost  quiver and the pale lips  
are about to move4 ,and as we look upon 
the  fine profile1 the sensitive1 highly
 arched nose and the tender1            
compassionate mouth1 it seems as if this
 woman's head had arisen out of  those  
deeper waters which we call the sea of  
memory1 as if indeed        8,our souls 
have sight of that immortal sea from    
whence we came40    ,there is little    
drawing as we are accustomed to think of
 drawing1 but  the painting is modelled 
in colour and is akin to the            
interpretation of  a sculptor who       
usually seeks the greater freedom which 
larger material  begets4 ,that something
 flowing which alone makes the earth    
other than a  piece of stone is revealed
 in almost all his work4 ,it is the very

 soul  of sculpture and he is but       
expressing it in kindred form4          
,gibran is an interpreter of 8the       
heavens above and the earth below40  ,he
 recalls like a fleeting memory1 the    
meaning of the great clouds  which swept
 like a flock of storm gulls before the 
bewildered eyes of  primitive man1 but  
he has likewise sounded the pit of agony
 into which  the soul descends during   
the crucifixion of its development4 ,for
 ,gibran  is not alone interested in the
 story of man1 he is interested in the  
history of life2 he is not concerned    
merely with its portrayal1 he  shares   
its struggle4 ,he is impelled by that   
force which lies beyond all  things     
animate and inanimate--that force which 
produces1 destroys and  recreates with  
the same intensity1 the same purpose and
 always to his  eyes1 with the same     
succession of beauty4    ,therein lies  
the reason why his work is of today with
 its unrest and  grouping in spite of   
its intuitive simplicity in the use of  

symbolic  material of the past4 ,it is  
of today because we are seeking to      
infuse  a new meaning into life whereby 
we can accept the bitter in order to    
gain the sweet2 we are endeavouring to  
come to terms with the ancient  symbols 
and although the concepts which ,gibran 
portrays are as old as  ,cronos1 they   
are also as modern as the interpretative
 spirit of our  age4 ,his art arises out
 of the past but its appeal is to the   
thinking  minds of today and it         
foreshadows a trend in the creative work
 of the  future4    ,the tryptich of the
 crucifixion in this series of drawings 
shows at  once how the symbol of the    
,christ between the two thieves can be  
used  either to express the complete    
religious and mythological conception1  
as it would have been used by the       
,primitives in some large fresco1  and  
how the same idea can be conveyed on a  
small sheet of paper by  one who        
understands the inner meaning and is    
able to put it forth as  a              

representation of the conflict of every 
self-conscious being4 ,in  this drawing 
a man rests upon the shoulders of two   
companions4 ,there  are no religious    
accessories either of halo or stigmata  
with which  to associate or localize the
 conception and yet the story of the    
crucifixion is completely portrayed4    
,it is in this absolute simplicity of   
idea and intuitive revelation  coupled  
with an instinctive grasp of the beauty 
of form1 that ,gibran  attains the      
consummation of his powers and commands 
a respect  meritorious of the classic4  
,for amidst the deluge which has        
overwhelmed  our world of art1 when     
,cubists collide with ,vorticists and   
both are  submerged by the onrushing of 
the ,orphicists--when school and type   
arise and as swiftly decline in the     
quest of the new and the age  is seeking
 a picture of its soul in barbaric      
imitation of genuine  barbarism1 it is  
of inestimable value to come upon an    
artist who is  fulfilling himself in his

 work apart from any claptrap of modern 
devices4 ,gibran has not gone to strange
 lands to study the new but  he has     
walked the silent path of the meditative
 creator and he has  brought out of his 
own depths these eternal verities of the
 history  of man's inner life4 ,he has  
recreated the symbolic incarnation of   
the  ,all-,mother--he has divined the   
flying wish of humanity and he has laid 
bare and retold the story of the        
,passion4    ,in the poetic revelation  
of these psychologic conceptions of     
humanity  he exhibits a world of        
consummate beauty to the younger artists
 of  ,america whose life he has chosen  
to share4 ,he is expressing the vast1   
the infinite forms of the ever fluid    
past and is showing us how these        
imperishable memories can stimulate the 
art of the future4    ,only in the      
acceptance of this infinitely varied    
racial history  as a living part of the 
present1 will ,america prepare herself  
for  the eventual renaissance of the    

arts and as a forerunner of this        
renaissance1 ,gibran will occupy a      
similar position to that of ,giotto  and
 ,ghirlandaio in relation to the        
,italian ,golden ,age4 ,the painters  of
 the ,renaissance showed the world that 
the human being could  be portrayed as  
if he were divine4 ,but to those who    
preceded the  ,renaissance the 8as if0  
did not exist4 ,to them--as to ,gibran1 
human  life is divine4 ,the body        
reflects and represents the spirit1 and 
art  arises out of the interplay between
 the inner and the outer world4    ,it  
is a fact that in painting as well as in
 poetry1 we are standing  today on the  
tiptoes of expectation1 awaiting the    
fusion of a closer  union between the   
old world and the new4 ,we are no longer
 bounded by  ,new ,england conceptions  
of the poetical on the one side and by  
the  various quasi-tragic               
representations of the ,last of the     
,mohicans as a  basic expression of     
,american art on the other4 ,in the     

anticipation of  the eventual           
renaissance of the world1 we in ,america
 can lend ourselves  to study those who 
are its precursors4    ,for ,gibran     
belongs to that group of artists whose  
message always  heralds a period of     
transition and whose voice challenges   
the present  to a recapitulation of its 
standards4    ,there is a tradition so  
old that its origin is lost in the mists
 of  antiquity where it is acclaimed as 
the symbol of our common ancestor       
,adam4 ,its sign signifies 8,dum voluit 
spiritus ,mundi40 ,out of the           
illimitable past--illuminating the      
,east1 touching in turn ,greece1        
,italy1 ,flanders1 ,germany1 ,france and
 ,spain1--so passed the great  creative 
spirit in the world of art2 what if this
 same illuminative  spirit should be in 
turn approaching our shores1 provided   
that we  are receptive enough to        
understand and to assimilate its        
fundamental  message4      ,,the        
,,greater ,,self    ,illustration       

,,the ,,blind    ,illustration          
,,the ,,mountain    ,illustration       
,,flight    ,illustration      ,,centaur
 ,,and ,,child    ,illustration         
,,uplifted    ,illustration      ,,the  
,,rock    ,illustration      ,,the      
,,waterfall    ,illustration      ,,the 
,,burden    ,illustration      ,,the    
,,great ,,longing    ,illustration      
,,veiled ,,face    ,illustration        
,,crucified    ,illustration            
,,compassion    ,illustration      ,,the
 ,,triangle    ,illustration      ,,the 
,,struggle    ,illustration      ,,the  
,,great ,,aloneness    ,illustration    
,,woman ,,with ,,garment                
,illustration      ,,mother ,,and       
,,child    ,illustration      ,,the     
,,innermost    ,illustration