Yusef Hourani, MA

Icon of St. Nicholas
Egg tempera and gold leaf on board
17.5 x 24 x 3 cm

Artist Statement

Art has always been a fundamental part of my life, and I have drawn for as long as I could hold a pencil. As a teenager I began to consider art not only as a career path but as a vehicle for research; a means for understanding oneself, the past and the world around us. At this time, I became inspired by Christian and Islamic art mainly through prints and reproductions in books about the great works of art and architecture in Europe and the Islamic world.

Through my Masters, I began to rediscover this passion and explore once again the art of these two great traditions. For my second-year project I not only wanted to produce works that stood in their own respective traditions but instead, I wanted to find a subject that would link these two worlds and provide a source of inspiration for producing sacred works for both Muslims and Christians. For me, this link was found in the Virgin Mary (Sayyidatna Maryam) is an exemplar for Christians and Muslims and the Divine muse of Medieval artists and craftsmen throughout Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East. By choosing the Blessed Virgin Mary as my subject, I was able to bring many of my artistic interests together; taking inspiration from the early Marian icons and mosaics found in Rome and Byzantium, the Tuscan masters of Gothic iconography and the refined Fatimid and Mamluk illuminators.

*Regina Caeli (Queen of Heaven)*
Egg tempera and gold leaf on board
20 x 26 x 3.5 cm

*Islimi study*
Gouache, ink and shell gold on paper
21 x 29.5 cm

Biography

Yusef Hourani was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1999. After completing his secondary education, Yusef quickly sought to pursue a career in art which led him to the city of Florence, Italy where he studied the classical method of academic drawing and painting at the Florence Academy of Art.

It was here in Florence that he also studied Iconography under the private tutelage of Sister Giselle Cappuccini, a nun from the Fraternités de Jérusalem based in the Badia Fiorentina Church in the historical center of the city.

Yusef also draws from the rich tradition of Islamic art which fuels his interest in calligraphy, illumination, geometry and ceramics. He is currently completing a Masters in Traditional Arts at the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London focusing primarily on the Christian and Islamic art and architecture of the Mediterranean and Near East during the early Middle Ages (from roughly 6th to 13th century c.e).