Sliman Mansour, one of Palestine's most celebrated artists and a 'Giant of Arab art', has been laid to rest in his home town in Palestine.
Family, friends, cultural figures and senior officials gathered to pay their respects to the Palestinian artist, whose death at the age of 79 was announced on Monday.
The funeral took place on Wednesday at St Peter’s Church in Birzeit. Condolences were received after the burial at the town's Grand Hall.
As the hearse made its way to the church, a crowd of mourners followed to pay their respects. Church leaders and uniformed bagpipe players led the funeral procession.
Olive branches, a motif depicted in many of his most famous works of art, were draped over the open casket. Outside the small church, mourners spilt into the streets to hear the service, as speakers were set up outside.
AFP reported that Imad Haddad, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, said at the service: "Many knew his paintings, his colours and his symbol. Many saw Palestine through his eyes and his brush.”
Artist Khaled Hourani told AFP: “From the moment the news of his death spread, it was as if all of Palestine was in mourning ... a great loss for Palestinian culture, and it truly feels as though an entire era has ended”.
Further condolence gatherings are being held at The Palestinian Museum in Birzeit on Thursday and at the Terra Sancta Pastoral Centre in Beit Hanina, Jerusalem, on Friday.
Mansour's family announced his death on Monday shortly after a social media post saying he was in critical condition.
“The final chapter has been written,” the family said. “With hearts heavy beyond words, we share that our beloved father has passed away.
“To the world, he leaves behind a life filled with beauty, memory, and a legacy that will continue to live through all those he touched. But to us, we lost a father, our source of love, strength and home.”
Born in Birzeit, near Ramallah, in 1947, Mansour was at the forefront of Palestinian art for more than five decades. His work helped to shape a visual language for Palestinian identity, drawing repeatedly on the land and the experiences of displacement and occupation.
Mansour graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem in 1970. He found his subjects in the landscape and daily life around him. Olive trees and traditional embroidery recur throughout his paintings, while Jerusalem appears as both a place and an object of longing.
