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Lebanese art community mourns Joseph Tarrab, a pillar of humanism

The art critic, whose erudite analyses illuminated the cultural pages of L’Orient-Le Jour, passed away on Dec. 31, leaving Lebanon’s artistic community bereft of his unparalleled insights.

Lebanese art community mourns Joseph Tarrab, a pillar of humanism

Art critic Joseph Tarrab.

On the first day of 2025, a handful of friends gathered under a radiant sun to lay Joseph (Joe) Tarrab to rest at the Jewish cemetery in Ras al-Nabeh. Tarrab, who passed away the previous day at 81, was buried as he had lived — unattached and far from his scattered family, having steadfastly refused to leave Lebanon.

His final journey was marked by the presence of companions with who he had shared years of uninterrupted, enriching conversations that delved into life's profound truths. Tarrab's friends considered themselves fortunate, as his presence brought clarity and meaning to his surroundings.

A towering figure in art criticism on the Lebanese and regional scene, Tarrab's extensive erudition and intellectual openness set him apart. As a leading voice in publications such as L'Orient (in its early days) and later L'Orient Le-Jour, he was widely regarded as one of the last great humanists of his time.

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"When I grow up, I want to be Joe Tarrab," I promised myself as a young intern at the cultural service, finding my footing in a profession where the only way to learn was by diving in. For a young woman with no concrete career plan beyond doing her best at what she thought she could do, "growing up" meant aspiring to the level of his observant gaze. The gaze of a man of short stature whose always discreet presence and low voice occupied the space of galleries like an oracle.

Tarrab possessed an unparalleled talent for capturing the essence of an artist's work — their journey, achievements and their place in art history. He possessed a unique reading grid where humanities and religions intersected with esotericism and philosophy, history and literature, psychology, music, theater, semiotics and a thousand other parameters known only to him.

Reading his analyses offered more than insights into art — it provided a new, intelligent way of seeing the world. To reach the heights of that gaze required a life of near-solitude, between reading, meditation and contemplation; an existence far beyond the grasp of most.

'When he wrote before an exhibition, attendance increased by 500 percent'

Tarrab, who embraced detachment as a personal discipline, was indifferent to fame. Yet, his writing was eagerly anticipated before every exhibition. "Even though we knew our artists, we always learned something new with him," said Nadine Begdache, owner of the gallery founded by her mother, Janine Rubeiz.

"We still needed him, we, the gallery owners," she added. "Since he withdrew, something is missing — his vast knowledge, his interest in new artists. He 'read' the works [and] explained them to us."

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"He was an art critic without equal. We haven't had a replacement of such caliber since he retired from the profession he embodied," said gallery owner Saleh Barakat, one of the five companions who escorted Tarrab to the cemetery. “When he wrote before an exhibition, attendance soared by 500 percent the next day. He had his style, his 'paw.' One could anticipate the content from the title," asserted Barakat describing him as "a sage.”

Former director of L’Orient-Le Jour, Amine Abou Khaled, also recalled that Joe Tarrab could formulate headlines on the fly. “Joe is a stark example of what Lebanon lost in human richness with the departure of its Jewish community," underlines Saleh Barakat. "He secretly started, and with his computer, to draw beautiful arabesques he never agreed to show," the gallerist also confided. "'It's not finished,' he would say. His approach was more of a researcher than an artist."

Journalist Fadi Noun emphasized Tarrab's deep attachment to his country, Lebanon, which he always refused to leave. "I have the strong conviction that he died a Lebanese," Noun said. Maria Chakhtoura, the former head of culture department at L'Orient Le-Jour, offers additional context, revealing that Tarrab's family had chosen exile and tried to persuade him to leave as well. At the border, just as he was about to hand over his passport to the police, he pulled it back and chose to return.

Noun, recounting a memory shared by their mutual friend Berty Turquier, recalled that Tarrab pitied members of the Lebanese Jewish community who had settled in France. "You are exiles," he told them, "Your real country is Lebanon!"

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"The painter was a carpenter"

Though Tarrab studied at the École des Lettres in Beirut, he was a passionate autodidact who pursued his education through relentless reading and observation. He mastered several languages, including German — translating for the cultural service of the German embassy — and Spanish, which he discussed in a podcast with Ricardo Kaam a year before his death. In the podcast, part of the Conversations with Ricardo Karam series and the only known recording of Tarrab, he admitted to continuing his studies through reading to refine his command of Spanish.

In the interview, Tarrab also shared life’s key moments: born on Justinien Street in Hamra, at the heart of unrivaled social diversity. He studied at the La Salle school on Georges Picot Street, which he walked to daily from the age of five, and which, in his words, "broke down community barriers." A cinema enthusiast, he attended the Beirut Cine-club from fifth grade, where each film screening led to two to three hours of debate, where every detail was scrutinized. This formative period, he said, taught him how to observe and sharpen his critical thinking.

At the École des Lettres, he particularly remembers founding a modern theater troupe that notably staged Aristophanes' The Birds. Another turning point came when he contributed to an exhibition in Paris for the painter Mohammad Sakr.

“It was in the midst of May 1968. The painter was a carpenter and a passionate diver, whose extraordinary paintings drew inspiration from the underwater worlds he observed. He didn’t speak a word of French, but he had a fantastic laugh, rare in Paris, which served him as a universal language. I told myself it would be a shame if the exhibition went unnoticed, and I set about writing an article that I posted to L’Orient. Director Georges Nacache then offered me to take charge of the newspaper’s weekly cultural supplement,” he recalled.

In his conversation with Karam, Tarrab also shared details of his retired life: “I read, I walk, I take care of my house, I organize my books, over 6,000 books and periodicals that I am preparing to donate to USEK [Holy Spirit University of Kaslik].” When Karam attempted to ask about his Jewish identity, Tarrab sidestepped the question, expressing disdain for communalism. An agnostic, Tarrab found such labels distasteful.

During the last months of his life, Tarrab was cared for by his close friend, Aouni Abdel-Rahim, a Sunni Muslim, who stayed by his side until the very end.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient Le-Jour.

On the first day of 2025, a handful of friends gathered under a radiant sun to lay Joseph (Joe) Tarrab to rest at the Jewish cemetery in Ras al-Nabeh. Tarrab, who passed away the previous day at 81, was buried as he had lived — unattached and far from his scattered family, having steadfastly refused to leave Lebanon. His final journey was marked by the presence of companions with who he had...