Jawad Saleem (, 1919–1961) was an Iraqi painter and sculptor born in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1919. He became an influential artist through his involvement with the Iraqi Baghdad Modern Art Group, which encouraged artists to explore techniques that combined both Arab heritage and modern art forms. He is considered to be one of Iraq's greatest 20th-century sculptors. Saleem received his artistic training 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 ...

but studied abroad in various European countries. Being a critic of early 20th century Iraqis' taste in art, he was a founding member of the Baghdad College of Fine Arts, as well as being the founder of the Baghdad Group for Modern Art. Throughout his artistic career, Saleem has been invited into various art-related events and groups. One of his most notable works is the ''Nasb al-Hurriyya'' monument, an example of 20th century Iraqi modernism and Qasim-era Iraqi revolutionary art; he died during its construction in 1961. Despite his short career, Jawad Saleem stands as the central figure of modern Iraqi art and history.

Early life and education

Jawad Saleem was born in Ankara, Ottoman Empire into a middle-class family. His parents were both originally from

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

in Northern Iraq,Shabout, N. (ed), ''A Century of Iraqi Art,'' Bonham's of London, 2015 Mohammed Hajji Saleem was a military officer who had been stationed in Ankara at the time of Saleem's birth, but returned to Baghdad in the 1920s, when the children were relatively young. His father was an amateur artist, his mother was an artist and a skilled embroiderer and his brothers, Saud and Nizarre along with his sister, Naziha Salim all became artists. Jawad Saleem studied sculpture in Paris (1938-1939) on a scholarship, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. He relocated to Rome (1939-1940), but again his studies were interrupted by war, forcing him to return to Baghdad. At war's end, he enrolled at the

Slade School The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

(1946-1948), where he was heavily influenced by Western artists such as

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

and

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

. In England, he met an artist, Lorna, a native of Sheffield, and the pair were married in 1950.

Artistic career

During the hiatus in his studies, Saleem was employed at the Directorate of Antiquities in Baghdad between 1940–1945 and was appointed head of the Sculpture Department at the Institute of Fine Arts in

, a position he retained until his death in 1961. His work exposed him to Iraq's ancient art traditions, and he consciously sought to discover the possibilities of combining ancient motifs with within the modern abstract art he had observed in Europe. His wife, Lorna Saleem, noted that he was fascinated with ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian sculptures. She explained: Saleem is generally credited with being the first Iraqi artist to draw on his heritage and guide local artists towards a distinctly Iraqi style. Iraq in the 1930s had few art museums or galleries. Accordingly, Saleem's first solo exhibition was held in the private home of prominent Iraqi architect,

Mohamed Makiya Mohamed Makiya (Mohammed Saleh Makiya 1914-2015) () was an Iraqi architect and one of the first Iraqis to gain formal qualifications in architecture. He is noted for establishing Iraq's first department of architecture at the University of Baghd ...

. In 1944, he was invited to work with historical masterpieces and to assist archaeologists in any restoration work that was necessary. These encounters with ancient heritage fostered a strong sense of pride in Iraq's ancient art heritage and questions about the nexus between 'heritage' and 'contemporary' art which would preoccupy the artist and philosopher for the rest of his working life. In 1951, he gave a public lecture in which he spoke critically and bitterly about public taste in Iraq. For this, Saleem became known as an 'enemy of the people.' Yet within two decades, Saleem was praised by the Iraqi elite and his reputation was mythologized by poets and writers. He was one of the founders of the ''Jama'et Baghdad lil Fen al-Hadith'' ( The Baghdad Modern Art Group, founded in 1951) with fellow artist

Shakir Hassan Al Said Shakir Hassan Al Said () (1925–2004), an Iraqi painter, sculptor and writer, is considered one of Iraq's most innovative and influential artists. An artist, philosopher, art critic and art historian, he was actively involved in the formation of ...

and

Mohammed Ghani Hikmat Mohammad Ghani Hikmat (April 20, 1929 – September 12, 2011) () was an Iraqi sculptor and artist credited with creating some of Baghdad's highest-profile sculptures and monuments and was known as the " sheik of sculptors". He is also known as a ...

(1929-2011); a group which attempted to combine ancient Iraqi art traditions with modern European techniques. The group's mantra, was ''istilham al-turath'' – seeking inspiration from tradition. Saleem, along with al-Said and other members of the Modern Baghdad group were 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 ...

and the work of ancient calligraphers and illustrators such as Yahya Al-Wasiti who was active in Baghdad in the 1230s. They believed that the Mongol invasion of 1258 represented a "break in the chain of pictorial Iraqi art" and wanted to recover lost traditions. After the death of Saleem in 1961, al-Said headed the group. This group accomplished a great deal in terms of popularizing modern art by giving Iraqis a sense of national pride in their ancient art heritage. Saleem first came to the attention of international audiences in 1952 when his competition entry, ''The Unknown Political Prisoner'' was one of 80 selected out of 3,500 entries for exhibition at the Tate Gallery in London and was the only Arab artist to be included in the exhibition. The following year he toured the United States and his work was well received. Although he worked both as a painter and sculptor, he always had misgivings about practicing both simultaneously. Towards the end of the 1950s, he made the decision to focus exclusively on sculpture.

Republic of Iraq and Nasb al-Hurriyya

In 1959, shortly after the

14 July revolution The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi military coup, was a ''coup d'état'' that took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq, resulting in the toppling of King Faisal II and the overthrow of the Hashemite-led Kingdom of Iraq. The Ira ...

, Saleem was commissioned by the new leader of the republic, Brigadier General '

Abd al-Karim Qasim Abdul-Karim Qasim Muhammad Bakr al-Fadhli Al-Qaraghuli al-Zubaidi ( ' ; 21 November 1914 – 9 February 1963) was an Iraqi military officer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister and de facto leader of Iraq from 1958 until his ...

to create a monument for the city center that would be a celebration to Iraq's declaration of independence. It was to be situated in the heart of Baghdad's central business district, overlooking Liberation Square and Jamhouriyya Bridge. The sculptor understood that the monument would need to be a symbol of a new world, and designed a work that was a narrative of the 1958 revolution, but that also paid homage to Iraq's deep art history by including

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

and Babylonian wall-reliefs, producing a sculpture that was both "strikingly modern" yet also referenced tradition. Saleem labored on the project under difficult conditions, resisting all attempts by Qasim to have his image incorporated. Initially, Saleem had wanted the sculpture to be at ground level, but the architect, Rif'at Chadirji insisted that it be elevated so that it would look more 'monumental'. As a result, the completed work faces the busy traffic rather than people walking in the adjacent gardens. Although the monument was Saleem's design, he did not see it through to completion; following his premature death, the project was completed in 1961 by Saleem's friend,

, who had previously been assisting on the project by casting the bronze figures.Greenberg, N., "Political Modernism, Jabrā, and the Baghdad Modern Art Group," ''CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture,'' Vol. 12, No. 2, 2010, Online: https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1603&context=clcweb, DOI: 10.7771/1481-4374.160; Floyd, T., "Mohammed Ghani Hikmat," iographical Notesin: ''Mathaf Encyclopedia of Modern Art and the Islamic World,'' Online: http://www.encyclopedia.mathaf.org.qa/en/bios/Pages/Mohammed-Ghani-Hikmat.aspx The completed monument, known as ''Nasb al-Hurriyya'' ( "Monument of Freedom"), has survived various attempts to have it pulled down and is one of Baghdad's most iconic public works. Saleem is credited as being the most influential artist in Iraq's modern art movement and is said to have brought a 'modern vision' to Iraq. The Palestinian-Iraqi intellectual,

Jabra Ibrahim Jabra Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (28 August 1919 – 12 December 1994) () was an Iraqi-Palestinian author, artist and intellectual born in Adana in French-occupied Cilicia to a Syriac Orthodox Christian family. His family survived the Seyfo Genocide and f ...

, wrote of him:

Death and burial

Saleem suffered a heart attack and died in the Republican Hospital on 23 January 1961, aged 42. Scholars have suggested that his premature death can be attributed, at least in part, to the stresses of completing the ''Nasb al-Hurriyah'' sculpture. His demise was seen as an "irreparable loss to Arab visual culture."

Work

Saleem consciously included

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n and

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

ian architectural features into his artworks - and was one of the first Iraqi artists to forge links with Iraq's ancient civilizations and their artistic traditions. Examples of his work are held in the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Art. Saleem is especially known for his ''Nasb al-Hurriyah'', located in Tahir Square, one of the main squares in Baghdad's city center. The monument consists of 14 bronze castings, representing 25 figures on a travertine slab, raised 6 metres off the ground. It provides a narrative of the 1958 Revolution of Iraq with references to Iraqi history by incorporating

n and

ian wall-reliefs. It is meant to be read, from right to left, as a verse of Arabic poetry, beginning with events that preceded the revolution and concluding with harmony following the revolution. The sculpture is depicted on the 10,000 dinar bank note for 2013-2015 in his honor. The multiple references and hidden layers of meaning in the work inspired Arab artists across the region and encouraged them to pursue artwork with a national identity at a time when many Arab nations were attaining independence.

Notable public works

* ''Motherhood,'' 1954 - a looted sculpture that has since been returned to Iraq's National collectionMyers, S.K., "Iraq’s Modern Art Collection, Waiting to Re-emerge," ''New York Times'', 13 July 2010
Online:
/ref> * '' Nasb al-Hurriyah,'' (''Monument of Freedom'', also known as ''Liberty Monument''), bass relief, 50 X 10 metres, Tahir Square, Baghdad (completed in 1961).

Notable smaller sculptures

* ''The Unknown Political Prisoner,'' plaster maquette, 1952 * ''A Man and a Woman,'' plaster relief, (45 X 45 cm), 1953 * ''A Man and a Woman,'' plaster relief, (45 X 45 cm), 1953 * ''Man and the Earth,'' 1955 * Mother and Child, 1953 (in the Barjeel Art collection)

Paintings

(Incomplete list) * ''The Baghdadi Family,'' 1953 * ''Children Playing,'' oil on canvas, 1953–54 * ''Hilal Decoration,'' 1955 * ''Al-Zafa,'' 1956 * ''Musicians in the Street,'' 1956 * ''Baghdadiyyat,'' 1957 * ''Kid Women,'' 1957 * ''A Woman and a Girl,'' 1957 * ''Henna Night,'' 1957 * ''Seedling Seller,'' 1957 * '' Woman Adorned,'' 1957 * ''Two Boys Eating al-Raqi (watermelons),'' 1958 (This work can be seen hanging on the wall in the portrait of Saleem picture above.) * ''The Girl and the Gardener,'' 1958 * ''Siesta,'' 1958 * ''The Dead Tree,'' 1958 * ''Girl and Dove,'' 1958 * ''Mosque of Kufa,'' 1958 * ''Tailoring,'' 1958 * ''In the Forum of the Caliph,'' 1958 * ''Woman with Coffee Pot,'' watercolor, private collection, date unknown

References

Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Modern Art Iraq Archive
Electronic resource maintained by Iraqi artists to preserve Iraq's art heritage and includes reproductions of artworks, many of which were looted from the Museum of Modern Art in 2003 and remain missing. These works are not accessible in any other public source.