Tripoli in Syria. From the journey to Palestine

Tripoli in Syria. From the Journey to Palestine shows the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli (historically referred to as Tripoli in Syria under Ottoman administrative divisions) — a medieval Crusader and Mamluk city on the Mediterranean coast north of Beirut. Ciągliński's route through the Levant in 1901 took him along the eastern Mediterranean coast, and his paintings of Beirut, Tripoli, and Damascus document a region that would be profoundly disrupted by the First World War barely a decade later. His works are thus inadvertent historical documents of a world on the verge of destruction.

The coastal city is rendered in the warm Mediterranean light characteristic of the Palestinian series. The palette balances warm stone and earthy tones with sea and sky blues. Ciągliński's handling is direct and summary, capturing the essential character of the place.