Elie Kanaan, born 1926, is part of the second generation of Lebanese modern artists (1925-1950). Initially self-taught, he won a few painting prizes at the beginning of his career (one of which was the UNESCO prize in 1958). This earned him a scholarship at the Academy de La Grande Chaumière in Paris. Often called a rhapsodist of nature and beauty, his manipulation of color was, to many, close to poetry. In fact, many of his contemporaries praised Kanaan on his mastery of colors and light, including Helen Khal and George Cyr. His life’s work can be divided into three eras: firstly, the figurative era which lasted up until he started studying art in France. The second era corresponded to his stay in Europe, when he became part of the Parisian school. Finally, Kanaan shed his classical French training and dove into the abstract (or surreal, as he preferred to call it), with some neo-fauvist tendencies.  

"Elie Kanaan's brush stroke begins with the nebulous and heads towards the definite: it is in this thrilling suspense where everything remains suggested, possible, and unrealized. The artist shares with us this intermediate state where every color and every shape is rich in its creative significance" - Alain Bosquet

Obviously from his abstract/neo-fauvist era, “Atmosphère” by Elie Kanaan is a testimony to the artist’s strong sense of freedom in creation and his almost jarring application of color. Abstract figures, most evident in the lower left corner of the canvas, seem to be sitting as one would in a park, in the midst of a fiery autumn landscape.