For centuries, Jerusalem has been a place that has meant wildly different things to different people, and it’s important that we look at it through the eyes of the artists, scientists and cartographers who have created their own, half-imagined versions and exported them around the world.
That was the view expressed by Hisham Khatib on the launch of his new coffee-table book, Jerusalem, Palestine & Jordan, which reproduces beautiful artwork from his own substantial private collection of historical artwork relating to the region.
From exquisitely etched maps to Romantic landscapes and 1930s travel posters, the book, which focuses on the Ottoman period, shows how images of a city can’t help but reflect the artist’s preconceptions. It wasn’t until the birth of photography, Khatib says, that a true reflection of the place was recorded.
Among the spectacular works reproduced in the book are an oil painting of Mount Sinai by Edward Lear, a painting of Absalom’s Pillar by William Holman Hunt, and an ochre-hued painting by John Singer Sargent called Jaffa from the Sands.
The fact that the entirety of Jerusalem could be seen from the Mount of Olives until the late 19th century has been a gift to artists, and among the panoramas in the collection is a colourful 16th-century copperplate, showing figures with robes and turbans in the foreground.
Collecting is a labour of love for Khatib; he admits that he’s driven by nostalgia as much as a keen interest in Arab culture. He was born in Acre, Palestine, and worked for 15 years as Jerusalem’s chief electrical engineer, before moving to Jordan, where be became Energy Minister.
After the talk, Khatib sat down with The National to discuss his "obsession".
What insights can we gain from looking at all these artworks together?
My main interest is to record the Arab presence in the city. It’s a recording of the history of the city as an Arab city.
In your talk, you mentioned how travellers made up their own westernised version of the city.
Absolutely. The writers who visited tried to prove the Biblical narratives, which are stories, so they came up with recordings that are not relevant to actual life. Photographs are much better because you can only photograph reality. Painters – it’s comme ci comme ça, reality and imagination. But with travel books, 95 per cent of the recording was imaginary.
You’re both a scientist and a patron of the arts. Does that give you a unique perspective?
Being a scientist gave me some financial clout to buy things, because you can’t have the collection for free. My collection is based on knowledge, not money, but still you need some money.
Are you still actively collecting?
Yes, it’s a great interest and of course my intention is to leave all this to the public. That happened with Rodney Searight [a well-known collector of art relating to the Middle East]; he left all his collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The same applies in my case. I have no intention of selling anything.
Why is it important that the public have access to this?
Because they should know their origin, their history. This is being forgotten now. This book depicts real life.
What are the most important objects in your collection?
Panoramas of Jerusalem and valuable plate books.
Do any of the objects have a special personal significance for you?
Honestly, all my collection is a personal … let us say, “obsession”. Sometimes I have to give a present, so I give a present with great agony. I don’t sell anything; on the contrary, I am still collecting. But sometimes with people who have done a very great service to Jerusalem, I give them an original thing, but I do so with great difficulty. Now photography and reproductions are becoming easy, so I’m giving reproductions, but in the past I used to give some originals, which I’m still regretting. [Laughs.]
How would you encourage people in the Middle East to pick up the book?
If you don’t know your religion and your history, others will claim it. That’s what’s happening. A lot of people are interested in their own life, in pleasures, and that’s OK, but you have to know your origins.
Jerusalem, Palestine & Jordan, Gilgamesh Publishing (£35, Dh195)
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