The exhibition of paintings and black and white photographs of the Kingdom’s archaeological sites and natural beauty put on by Prince Faissal ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad and Tarik Alireza, co-owners of the Attawheed Collection, began on Jan. 22 at the National Museum in Riyadh. Riyadh Governor Prince Salman opened the exhibition which celebrates the unification of the Kingdom by King Abdul Aziz. Paintings and pictures of sites throughout the Kingdom are featured in the exhibition. The Attawheed Exhibition was organized by the King Abdul Aziz Public Library to mark the 20th anniversary of the accession to the throne of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd.
Prince Salman was welcomed at the museum by Prince Faissal, Tarik Alireza and other officials. In his welcome address, Prince Faissal gave an overview of the exhibition, its history and the efforts made to bring together paintings by Gerhardt Liebmann and photographs by Humberto da Silveira. A short documentary on the Attawheed Exhibition in Jeddah, Beirut and Paris was screened before Prince Salman opened the exhibition. The opening ceremony was attended by a large number of Saudi and foreign dignitaries, including guests from the Janadriah Festival. Attawheed of the Kingdom is based on the concept of unity, the unity of the Kingdom under the Oneness of Allah and the Shariah.
It is the fourth time Attawheed Collection has been exhibited; the first exhibition was in Jeddah in Ramadan of 1999. The following year the exhibition was moved to the UNESCO Building in Beirut in the spring of 2000 and in the same year the collection was exhibited in the Institut Du Monde Arabe in Paris.
Visitors enter the exhibition and are guided through the Central Region where the unification of the Kingdom began; the other regions follow in the order of East, South, North and West. Each section is decorated with a frieze in the style of each region with accompanying traditional music, softly played from small speakers. The works of art are lit with spot lighting.
The exhibition consists of a collection of 50 paintings by Liebmann. He was commissioned to paint the Kingdom’s historical sites as a valuable record of their existence. He began visiting and painting landscapes in 1982. The same landscapes Liebmann had painted were later captured in black and white photographs by the Brazilian photographer Humberto da Silveira.
Next to every painting is a photograph of the same subject. Yet, unlike Liebmann who was able to omit objects that remind us of the modern world and so represent the sites at the time they were built, Da Silveira’s work shows the sites as they stand today with the surrounding buildings, cars and lampposts. Da Silveira stated that his photographs captured the essence and current reality of the subject matter and were a complement to the paintings which excluded certain objects. Both the paintings and photographs make a strong visual impact on the viewer. The paintings represent the past while photographs represent the present reality.
The paintings in the central area of the exhibition gallery where the portraits of the kings and various princes are hung are of the Haramain, The Holy Mosque at Makkah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. The background in the portraits shows the achievements during the reign of each king. King Abdul Aziz’s portrait shows the unification of the Kingdom based on the Shariah. The portrait of King Saud shows the building of the railroad from Riyadh to Dammam and architectural development of the Haramain. The portrait of King Faisal includes the beginning of girls’ education, his participation at the establishment of the UN in 1945, the reorganization of goverment ministries, his mission to unify the Islamic world and a pair of broken handcuffs to symbolize the end of slavery in Saudi Arabia. The painting of King Khaled shows the development of technology, health, transport, trade, electricity and desalination plants. The portrait of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd depicts the great architectural development and expansions of the Haramain, the development of higher education and the efforts made to ensure services, facilities and care for Haj pilgrims. The achievements in science and space technology and the modernization of Kingdom’s cities such as Jeddah, are also expressed in the portrait of King Fahd.
The background to the portrait of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, represents scenes from the Kingdom’s heritage and culture at the Janadriah Festival as well as the achievements made in sports, services and care of Haj pilgrims and the National Guard. The portrait of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, presents in detail the development of the Kingdom’s military, marine and air force.
The Attawheed book is based on the exhibition and includes general information and pictures of the paintings and photographs as well as information about the Kingdom’s history. The exhibition will run for two months in the National Museum in Riyadh. Anyone who is interested in the Kingdom’s history, traditions and culture would find it fascinating.
Prince Faissal stated that the aim of the collection of paintings and photographs is to send out a message to all Saudi citizens and visitors. The message is that we should preserve the Kingdom’s varied archaeological sites.
Prince Faissal pointed out that without projects to preserve and save the Kingdom’s historical sites and history, they would be destroyed, leaving no traces of our past. He said that every Saudi citizen was responsible for protecting his or her heritage and being proud of it. By way of example, Prince Faissal explained that the lakes at Layla in the Rub Al-Khali no longer exist because of excessive agricultural practices. There is a painting of the site as it once was and beside it is a photograph of the same site, 10 years later. There is nothing but dry sand and rocks where once there was water and vegetation.
Two more examples which Prince Faissal mentioned were the Mosque of Ali Ibn Abi Talib defaced by vandalism and graffiti and the Kut Area of coral buildings in Al-Qatif that have not kept their traditional appearance. Prince Faissal concluded by saying that Attawheed will encourage awareness and understanding of the meaning of preservation through reviving the organization "Friends of Heritage" which is dedicated to protecting the Kingdom’s archaeological heritage and preserving its history and related sites.
The National Museum in Riyadh was constructed to celebrate the centenary of the unification of the Kingdom. Prince Salman opened the museum in 1998. It houses many artifacts, paintings and drawings that are valuable sources of information about the Kingdom’s history. The museum is set within an aesthetically pleasing open space of palm trees, greenery, streams and ponds decorated with stepping-stones and cobbled pathways.
