David Daoud (Libano, Beirut, 1970)Songe, 2022 Olio su tela160 x 130 cm

David Daoud is a Lebanese artist, draughtsman and sculptor, born in Beirut in 1970. He left Lebanon with his family in 1978 due to the civil war (1975-90) and moved to France. In 2011, he was awarded the prestigious 1st Frédéric de Carfort Prize of the Fondation de France pour la Peinture. He painted the fourteen Stations of the Cross in the church of Saint-Rémi de Marines and three others in the church of Saint-Gildard, Longuesse (Ile de France). In his production the artist explores the themes of exile, migration and diaspora, having personally experienced the decision to leave Lebanon behind and the consequent organisation of a new life in a different country. He also analyses the personal and global history of human beings and contemporary societies, considered, as they are, complex organisms. His works often present a dreamlike, mysterious and magical world, which is at the same time a representation of reality.Daoud's works can be found in several collections, including: the Institute du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Museum of Prehistory in Beirut, the Town Hall of Marines, Vexin (France) and Isle-Adam (France).In ‘Songe’ there is a woman at the centre of the composition. She is bare-breasted and barefoot, has only a piece of deep blue cloth that wraps around her waist and legs and wears golden jewels. She is sitting on the ground and holds her hands clasped in front of her face as if she were praying. It is surrounded by groups of people and animals, which are barely defined. The scene around the woman is dynamic, as suggested by the presence of people engaged in their own activities, in contrast with the stillness of the woman praying or dreaming. Signed lower left and signed and dated at the back.