Twenty Drawings

by Kahlil Gibran, Alice Raphael (Introduction)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

68 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

About the author

Kahlil Gibran (Arabic: جبران خليل جبران ) was a Lebanese-American artist, poet, and writer.
Born in the town of Bsharri in modern-day Lebanon (then part of Ottoman Mount Lebanon), as a young man he emigrated with his family to the United States where he studied art and began his literary career. In the Arab world, Gibran is regarded as a literary and political rebel. His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero.
He is chiefly known in the English-speaking world for his 1923 book The Prophet, an early example of inspirational fiction including a series of philosophical essays written in poetic English prose. The book sold well despite a cool critical reception, gaining popularity in the 1930s and again, especially in the 1960s counterculture.
Gibran is the third best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.

Reviews

[Huda Aweys · Rating 2 out of 5]

الرسام والفنان ابرهيم سماحة : على اللبنانيين أن يكونوا ممتنين لماري هاسكل التي من دونها لكان ارث جبران خليل جبران اندثر ! ..

*****
في العام 1918 وضع جبران فكرة تنفيذ لوحاته العشرين وأصدرها بعد سنة، في كتاب بعنوان: "عشرون لوحة"، في مئة نسخة مرقمة تحمل توقيعه.
جبران وضع لمسته الخاصة والشخصية في الكتاب ، اختار نوعية الورق والغلاف ونظم ترتيب اللوحات التي نشرت بالأبيض والأسود، في حين كانت أمنية الشاعر أن تصدر تلك اللوحات ملونة
(منقول)
...
و من هنا كانت فكرة اعادة نشر كتاب
(عشرون لوحة)
الكتاب من المفروض انه يكون بيضم لوحات ملونة لعشر لوحات موجودة في متحف جبران خليل جبران في بشري ، ولوحتين أخريين تم الحصول عليهما من نيويورك من متحف
Telfair Museums
، في حين سيتم الإبقاء على اللوحات الثماني باللونين الأبيض والأسود.
.....
و بما انى اتفرجت على لوحات جبران اللى بالفحم و الرصاص (الأبيض و الاسود) و لوحات متحفه و متحف
Telfair Museums
فاقدر ادلي بدلوي هنا :) ، عموما جبران من المدرسة الكلاسيكية .. متأثر بفنون عصر النهضة ( اللي انا ماليش تقل عليه :) ! )دا شئ واضح جدا
...
.. الألم .. الحب .. الطبيعة .. الأمومة .. الموت
مواضيع مكررة و بارزة فى رسوماته .. اللى وظفها لخدمة فلسفته
...
من اكتر اللوح اللى باحبها له (ملاك الأمل) ، و رسمته بالفحم لماريانا اخته
و لوحات الطبيعة الصامتة

[Amalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry for your eyes. Introductory essays by Alice Raphael offer insight and history on the spirituality in art.

[Key · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drawings are marked by an intuitive fusion of emotion and thought, where beauty is both the medium and the message. Gibran’s art refuses to merely replicate nature but seeks to reveal its hidden mysteries. His compositions exhibit a delicate gradation of colour and form reminiscent of sculpture, in contrast to the more ornate, detailed approaches of his contemporaries. This simplicity enhances the profound thematic concerns conveyed by his drawings, which address universal motifs such as love, struggle, longing, and the interconnectedness of all life.

The artist’s centaurs and horses, for example, symbolize the dual nature of humanity—the animal and the spiritual—pointing to an ongoing dialogue between the earthly and the transcendent. Through such images, Gibran explores the tension and harmony between opposites, a central theme in his oeuvre which echoes the Sufi philosophy of "wahdat al-wujud," or the unity of existence.

Gibran’s work inhabits a liminal space between symbolist and romantic traditions, without being confined by either. His drawings articulate a mystical aesthetic where art serves as a spiritual path—a conduit to the divine through the celebration of beauty. This concept aligns with his literary convictions, notably that beauty is a form of truth and a guide for life.

Its enduring appeal lies in its capacity to evoke profound reflections on human existence through a marriage of spirituality, philosophy, and artistic expression. Ultimately, this collection reveals Gibran as an artist whose vision was deeply intuitive and universality seeking—a seeker of eternal truths communicated not just through words but also through the delicate, evocative line of his brush and pencil.

[Barbara Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book of original drawings by Kahlil Gibran who wrote The Prophet a book that had an extraordinary impact on my life. I searched for Twenty Drawings for years after collecting all of Gibran's other books. I finally found a used copy in good condition and purchased it. I now have the complete collection.

His drawings are deep, dark, and mesmerizing. I'm glad to have found a copy.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting but underwhelming. the drawings are mostly nudes depicting themes from Biblical or European mythology. a couple feature centaurs. the all look a lot like sketches of sculptures. the introduction by Alice Raphael seems like a decent overview of Gibran's aesthetic. she contrasts him with another "Eastern" poet-contemporary of Gibran - Tagore Rabindranath - the latter belonging solely to India, the former to the entire world. check out the drawings, but don't dwell too long.