2023-05-26 05:12:19
A jewel of Lebanese architecture and cultural life in Lebanon, the Sursock Museum reopens its doors to the public on Friday May 26, three years after the double explosion at the port of Beirut, August 4, 2020. That day, two huge explosions successive waves emanating from the port, located 700 m as the crow flies, had shaken this building of Venetian and Ottoman inspiration built in 1912.
If the facade of the museum had remained almost intact, its colorful stained glass windows had shattered into thousands of shards, while inside, the ceilings of the exhibition halls collapsed, damaging around sixty works.
Among these, a portrait of the original owner of the premises, Nicolas Sursock, painted by the Dutch Fauvist Kees Van Dongen (1939), is torn by 55 cm; a painting by Paul Guiragossian, Consolation, sees its pigments burst. In the Arab lounge, one of the prides of the museum, the woodwork so typical of the architecture of old Damascene houses is shredded by the power of the blast.
Reopening nearly three years after the explosion
On the eve of its reopening to the public, workers and employees of the museum are busy putting the finishing touches to the five upcoming exhibitions. The culmination of two and a half years of work which will have required a budget of nearly two and a half million dollars, financed by Italy, via the Li Beirut initiative supported by Unesco, the French Ministry of Culture and Aliph, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas. And the meticulous know-how of several art masters.
The emblematic blue, red and yellow stained-glass windows, adorning the delicate facade, have been reconstructed identically by the Lebanese artist Maya Husseini, with blown glass from the Verrerie de Saint-Just in France and donated by Saint-Gobain. The Arab lounge has regained its former glory thanks to the expert work of Maison Tarazi, which patiently restored panels, moldings and arches. Only the access doors to the living room still bear the scars of the explosion.
Restored works
As for the damaged works, they have all returned to the collection of the Sursock Museum. “Three works have been restored by the Center Pompidou, fifty paintings as well as sculptures have been restored locally, lists Karina El Helou, the director of the museum appointed in October 2022. The works on paper were restored by Caroline Gelot, from the National Heritage Institute, with whom we are continuing our partnership. »
Excited about “this symbol of hope for cultural life in Lebanon”the 30-year-old is nonetheless aware of the heavy challenges ahead, as the country is ravaged by more than three years of economic crisis. “It’s a big challenge. she admits, but I believe in it, because it is one of the first contemporary and modern art museums in the Middle East. A very avant-garde autumn salon was created there in the 1960s. Then it took part in the animation of a very rich cultural scene, around which gravitated many Iraqi, Syrian and Palestinian artists. »
Previously, the museum, free to the public according to the testamentary wishes of its former owner Nicolas Sursock, relied on subsidies from the municipality of Beirut. But today, the coffers are empty. “We will seek funding from donors, Avance Karina El Helou. It is a real resistance that we lead. Lebanon needs this kind of place, today more than ever. »
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