Artwork
Bhamdoun Al-Mahatta: A House With A Garden
Bhamdoun Al-Mahatta: A House With A Garden is a watercolor painting by Moustafa Farroukh. It dates from 1939 and is held in the collection of the Sursock Museum.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1939, this watercolor by Moustafa Farroukh portrays a quiet domestic setting in the Lebanese town of Bhamdoun. A modest brick house with an arched entrance and a red‑tiled roof sits amid a cultivated garden, while a prominent stone pine dominates the composition. The work exemplifies Farroukh’s sustained interest in the rural and suburban landscapes of his homeland.
Subject & Meaning
The scene combines architecture and nature, suggesting a harmonious coexistence between built environment and cultivated land. The garden, rendered with a variety of foliage, conveys a sense of leisure and seasonal abundance, while the solitary tree with its thick trunk serves as a visual anchor, emphasizing stability and continuity within the domestic sphere.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolor, the painting relies on translucent washes and fine brushwork to render light filtering through the pine’s canopy. Soft, muted hues create atmospheric depth, and delicate modulation of shadow conveys the time of day. Farroukh’s handling of the medium balances detail—such as the brick path—with broader tonal fields, achieving a lyrical yet precise representation.
History & Provenance
Moustafa Farroukh, a prolific Lebanese artist responsible for over two thousand works and several publications, produced this piece during the height of his career. After his death in 1957, the painting entered the collection of the Sursock Museum in Beirut, where it remains part of the institution’s holdings of early 20th‑century Lebanese art.
Artist & collection
Artist
Moustafa Farroukh (Arabic: مصطفى فروخ; 1901 – 1957) was one of Lebanon's most prominent painters of the 20th century.
