Gibran. The Prophet
1. Childhood and first creative stage: Use of charcoal and colored pencils for what would later become illustrations for Copeland and Day published in Boston and exhibited as part of Gibran’s first showing at Harcourt Studios in 1904. Presence of the nude and creation of ethereal figures.
2. 1908–1914: The greater part of his oil paintings –though not all of them– belong to this period. In addition to charcoal, he experiments with other materials. Influenced by William Blake and by Eugène Carrière in his compositions: evanescent figures, duality of good and evil, constructions closely linked to Symbolism.
3. 1914–1918: Abandons oil and returns to charcoal until the end of his life. An emphasis on portraits and self-portraits. Uses spiral movement in the depiction of his figures.
4. 1918–1923: The illustrations for his most iconic works: The Madman and The Prophet. His principal aim is the projection of the spirit through corporeal elements. For Gibran, everything comes from within in the creative acts of life.
5. 1928–1931: Final creative period. Intense colors, with a marked taste for dark tones. Drama and complexity in the closure of his creative cycle.