Darat al Funun currently on

Also in the main building, the –room of portraits” houses more treasures. Fahrelnissa Zeid's interior, of the 40s, Impressionist abstract lithographs, of the 50s, portraits, of the 70s, and a stained glass panel, done in the twilight of her life, are as many works of art documenting the life and creation of a prolific artist.

Ismail Fattah (Iraq), both a painter and a sculptor, has a captivating power of expression, –if only on account of the power of the line and its animation enjoyed by the artist, with drawn forms appearing almost as protrusive as his sculptured works”.

Sculptures by Iraqis Mohammad Hussein Abdullah and Himat Ali and Lebanese Shawki Shawkini bring as many styles and colour to the room, while the wonderful graphics of Syrian Ziad Dalloul (illustrations of Adonis' poems) and of Iraqi Rafa Nasiri's add a sober note to the whole.

Mohammad Kacimi (Morocco), with his painting on an old film reel box, and Tunisian Abdelrazak Sahli, who paints on sack cloth and on everyday things to prove that art is everywhere, show the influence of both native and French cultures on their artistic makeup.

Bringing the room to a full circle, the monumental paintings of heads by Syrian Marwan (Kassab Bashi) are both –portraits”, offsetting Fahrelnissa's at the opposite end, and landscapes that ask to be figured out by a dazzled viewer. German expressionism influenced this artist who lives, works and is exhibited in Berlin. His paintings haunt and stay etched in memory.