Faeq Hassan (also known as Faiq Hassan, Fayiq Hassan or Faik Hassan) (1914–1992) was an Iraqi

painter 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 ...

noted for founding several 20th century art groups, which collectively were responsible for bridging the gap between Iraqi heritage and traditional art and modern art. He is often called the 'father of Iraqi modern art.'

Life and career

Hassan was born in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

in 1914 into a poor family. His father had died before the infant, Hassan, was born. As a child, he helped his mother who made folkloric clay statues of Arab

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

s and local farmers. As a young boy, he visited his uncle who was working as a gardener for

King Faisal I Faisal I bin Hussein bin Ali Al-Hashemi (, ''Fayṣal al-Awwal bin Ḥusayn bin ʻAlī al-Hāshimī''; 20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) was King of Iraq from 23 August 1921 until his death in 1933. A member of the Hashemite family, he was a l ...

where the King saw the boy drawing a horse. Recognising his talent, the King promised to give the young artist a scholarship. However, the King died in 1933 before he could carry out his promise. During the early 1930s, Hassan gave art lessons at a local school, and when the new

King Faisal II Faisal II (; 2 May 1935 – 14 July 1958) was the last King of Iraq. He reigned from 4 April 1939 until July 1958, when he was killed during the 14 July Revolution. This regicide marked the end of the thirty-seven-year-old Hashemite monarchy ...

visited his school, he ordered that Hassan be sent to Paris to study art, thus fulfilling his father's earlier promise to the young boy. Hassan was also allocated a private French tutor so that he could learn French prior to his departure. He graduated from the

École des Beaux-Arts ; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centu ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1938. Hassan was one a very small group of artists sent to study abroad. On their return to Iraq, this group became the cornerstone of modern art in Iraq. On his return to Baghdad, Hassan founded the Painting Department at the

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

Institute in 1939-1940 in conjunction with his friend, artist and sculptor,

Jawad Saleem Jawad Saleem (, 1919–1961) was an Iraq, Iraqi painter and sculptor born in Ankara, Ottoman Empire in 1919. He became an influential artist through his involvement with the Iraqi Baghdad Modern Art Group, which encouraged artists to explore tech ...

. He also founded the ''Al-Ruwad'' (The Pioneers Group), in the 1930s and was its President for many years. The group attempted to incorporate local phenomena into art. They rejected the artificial atmosphere of the artist's studio and encouraged artists to engage with nature and traditional Iraqi life and held their first exhibition in 1931. This group was responsible for taking the first steps towards bridging the gap between modernity and heritage. Artists active in this group, like Hassan, had been educated abroad, returned with a European aesthetic, yet wanted to paint local scenes and landscapes. Members included:

, Ismail al Sheikhli, Kamil Chadirji, Mohammed Ghani Hikmat and Nadhim Ramzi. In 1950, Hassan established the '' Avantgarde Group'' (also known as the ''Primitive Group'' or the ''Societe Primitive''); a group of local artists that attempted to incorporate local phenomena into art. Inspired by Mespotamian art and Iraqi folklore, the group was led by Hassan along with artist, Isma'il al-Shaykhali (Turkey b. 1927). This group was inspired by the 13th-century

Baghdad School The Baghdad School, also known as the Arab school, was a relatively short-lived yet influential school of Islamic art developed during the late 12th century in the capital Baghdad of the ruling Abbasid Caliphate. The movement had largely died out ...

. In 1962, he founded the ''al-Zawiya'' (the Corners Group) with the objective of using art to focus on social and political issues, and serve national interests. For most of his working life, he was a member of the Iraqi Artists' Society. He died in 1992 from heart failure.

Work

Hassan was a highly experimental painter. At different times, he explored the visual possibilities of

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

and

Abstract art Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...

, amongst other genres. As an art student, he had been heavily influenced by impressionism, but as he matured his work became more and more abstract. However, from a commercial standpoint, he found that impressionist works were popular and sold well, accordingly he returned again and again to that style. Hassan participated exhibitions until 1967; including the first exhibition of his newly formed, Corner Groups. He also took part in the Friends of Art Society in 1943 and 1946.

Gallery

Select list of artworks

* ''The Tent'', oil on wood, 80 X 90 cm, 1956 * ''Celebration of Victory'', mosaic mural, public work, Tiran Square, Baghdad, 1967 * ''The History of Iraq'', oil on canvas, triptych, 186.5 x 300 cm (per panel), c. 1970 * ''Village Life'', oil on canvas, 1971 * ''A Horseman'', oil on canvas, 1980s * ''Two Men'', oil on canvas, date unknown * ''Abstract Couple'', oil on canvas, date unknown * ''The Groom'', oil on canvas, date unknown

Exhibitions

* Participated in the Avicenna Exhibition in Baghdad in 1952.Bloom, J. and Blair, S.S. (eds), ''Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture,'' Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 141 * Organized a number of one-man exhibitions in Baghdad, in 1962-1967 and 1971. * Participated in most national exhibitions outside

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. * Joined nine artists in the Iraq Art Exhibition in Beirut in 1965.

References