''The Apocalypse'' Series encompasses 125 works consisting of 75

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s and 50

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

s created between 1982 and 1984 by

Nabil Kanso Nabil Kanso ( – ) was a Lebanese-American painter. Kanso began his career in New York in 1968 during the start of the neo-expressionist movement. His works dealt with contemporary, historical and literary themes, and were marked by figurative im ...

. The subjects of the works in the series are based on the

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

Saint John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( – ) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, and John the Presbyter, although there is no consensus on h ...

. The colors of this painting are somber, suggesting richness and heaviness, while the repetitive geometry of the shapes suggest apocalyptic inevitability. In Peran Erminy's article, ''The Apocalyptic Paintings of Nabil Kanso'', he clearly states that Kanso's paintings portray our world today. He states that our world is constantly surrounded by violence and people feel vulnerable. The aggression one has can ultimately lead to a break out in war where the world will be doomed. Kanso's paintings reflect the path we are taking as a world. People today are quick to act upon threats leading us into a world that is ruled by war. This will be the hell on earth made by none other than human beings themselves. Kanso has a strong, intense effect on his audience's feelings and emotions. Kanso's work is dark and sometimes frightening, conveying how it is relevant to the scary obstacles of today's world. Our society seems to be stuck on depressing violence and aggression and if continued on this path, will only continue to result in tragic wars.Nabil Kanso
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Painter

Apocalyptic Painter, Nabil Kanso was born in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. In recent years, the city was in a civil war that led to destruction and human suffering, however he had fond memories of his childhood. In the other hand, in 1958, during the civil war schools were forced to shut down. There wasn't much to do’ Kanso occupied his time making sketches that captured his interest. Kanso's first contact with art was images of angels painted in high ceilings, Mexican art works and other artists from East and West. While witnessing a shooting, is when Kanso had desire to move to America. After five years he moved to New York and enrolled himself in NYU to study Arts and Philosophy. In 1971, Kanso had his first solo in 76th Street Gallery. In spite of this many years later his apocalyptic series of paintings would end up in storage.

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External links

Apocalypse paintings
Paintings based on the Book of Revelation Modern paintings Series of paintings by Nabil Kanso 1982 works 1983 works 1984 works 1980s paintings 20th-century drawings {{20C-painting-stub