Born August 3rd, 1935, at Ghadir, Lebanon.

Nationality: French and Lebanese.
Schooled at the Marist Brethren, Jounieh. Polyglot.

Art Scholarships from governments:
Madrid, 1961-1963
Paris, 1963
Rome, 1973
Paris, 1985

Practice in studios of acknowledged masters:
Omar Onsi's, 1951-1961
George Corm's, 1958-1961
Rachid Wehbe's, 1955-1957
Italian Cultural Centre, Beirut, 1955-1957
Ecole Supérieure des lettres, Beirut, 1955-1957
Beirut Faculty of medicine (Anatomy), 1958-1959

Diplomas:
Diplomas of Higher Studies, Madrid University and San Fernando School of Fine Arts, 1961-1963.
Doctorate 3rd cycle, University of Paris. “ Plastic arts, pictorial technology and expression.”
Doctorat d' Etat 1999, Lebanese University.

Assignments:
Lebanese State instructor since 1954.
In charge of refresher courses for Lebanese art instructors in Beirut, Tripoli and Byblos state high schools, since 1965.
Instructor of Fine Arts at Holy Spirit University, Kaslik, since 1963.
Titular professor of the Lebanese University.
Chairman of the Drawing and Painting Department at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Lebanese University, 1980-1985 and 1994-1996; member of the Faculty Council.

Exhibitions:
More than sixty personal exhibitions in Lebanon and around the world.
Works in private collections, public, religious and private corporations around the world :
France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Germany, Vatican, United States,Canada, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Brazil, Mexico, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Abu Dabi, Irak, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Emirats, Kuwait, Cyprus and Egypt

Interviews:
Courses of artistic formation on Lebanese Television, for all students at universities and teachers’ training colleges.
Radio - BBC, Voice of America, Montecarlo, France and Kuwait Radio, Radio Liban.
TV - Kuwaiti and Lebanese.

Publications by the artist concerning his work:
Several articles in the local and International press.
Several talks given in educational institutions in Lebanon and abroad.
Polycopied courses for secondary (senior high) school classes and the teachers’ training college.
Teachers’ book in Arabic for the Centre for pedagogic research and Development
A book about the artist's work: Peintures du Liban –Joseph Matar - Tanit Edition 1996.
Mentioned in the book "Pioneers from Lebanon" Ed. 2000.
The work of Joseph Matar was critiqued on April 11, 2000 by Joanna Bassil (Bachelor of Arts degree, University of Quebec -   Montreal, Canada).- A question of culture and formation which finds its expression in the work of Joseph Matar.
His poetry has been mentioned in "Dreams and Fantasies" part of The Silence Within series by The International Library of Poetry.
The works of Joseph Matar appear in the book "Histoire de l'art du 20ème siècle, artiste peintre Joseph Matar", Tome III, Académie   Michel Angelo des beaux arts, Beirut, by Alice Atwé under the supervision of Bernard Renno.
In July 2001, his poetry was recognized by an award for outstanding achievement from the international library of poetry (Library of   Congress ISBN-0-7951-5062-8).

Articles:
Whatever he is doing, Joseph Matar gives himself heart and soul. His eyes embrace all, but he sees in depths beyond what his eyes see, perceiving what only the Spirit can perceive!

This is what he is and this is his whole way of being: joyful at being present, overflowing with intense tenderness and vitality, smiling when he greets the rays of sunrise, in other words when embracing existence itself.

Beware when you approach him, for his thousand-sided flame sears and burns, awakens and gives pulsating life! His rhythm with the pen is in tune with his breathing that brings into play his heart and his eyes and his soul! Whether his arm is a cutting point, a lead pencil or ink, he opens before us a new world. Like the door of Ali Baba's treasure opening in obedience to a spoken word, he tells us on a virgin page the love story of a heart which loves without ever drying up!

With his pencil he expresses the bewitching capricious magic which shows him reaching to the stars or plucking a modest daisy. The line he follows is that of the will and of love. Over the fifty-five years during which he has been revealing himself, he has ever continued to learn, learning to break in, to domesticate, to humanise all that stands in his path. His desire has always been to pass beyond them all the better to affront whatever the future may bring. Alas! how many expressions there are without effect, without a soul able to reveal itself, how many prayers seeking to rise up without any religion, how much religion without prayer!

Yet is not the final purpose beyond pictorial art, prayer and religion to attain what is supremely sacred? It is something sacred to pass on a heritage, without more verbiage. The stars do not hide their faces, they do not hide their light! Being present, they send forth their rays and reveal their beauty, from which men of every condition have profited throughout the ages.

This bard of legends and allegories works far removed from words and from pointless chatter. He has his vocabulary, human and universal, with which he speaks to the great ones of the earth and to the little ones, all those who have eyes to see with and hearts to feel with. He always returns to the same story, his own story, the story of existence. This colourful saga must always remain unique, in a state of movement, the saga of changing the world! What a task, what an esthetic experiment. Here you are invited to the great feast, mystical and enchanting. In this movement from which you find yourself unable to separate yourself you will redouble your efforts, for "humanising God" is no light undertaking. More difficult yet is "divinising man"! Allegories of creators and created, swirling whirlpools of grace, of brilliance and of charm... in an eternal love, an eternal spring of metamorphosis and renewal.

Some of the Works