Lot Essay
Faeq Hassan's early talent was evident as he was the second recipient of a government scholarship to study art abroad. He graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris in 1938. During his time abroad, Hassan was exposed to European modernism and produced copies of masterworks. Upon his return to Baghdad, he founded the Painting Department at the Fine Arts Institute in 1939 where he was able to focus on educating young artists in the field as he went to great lengths to ensure that his students had adequate equipment and instruction.
Hassan was keen on creating an art form that would communicate the growing feelings of patriotism amongst Iraqi citizens while simultaneously working to develop his own technical skills as well as that of his students. His work has always been defined by his technical skill and by keen eye for color. To him, color was not merely a symbol in and of itself but was the connective tissue that brought the composition together. He was fascinated by color, to the extent that he could not see figures and shapes except in terms of color ‘for it is not enough that you transfer your form from reality but you must body forth your conception of it in terms of color.’
He was constantly changing and developing his styles and has been labeled a primitivist, an impressionist, and a cubist as he never allowed himself to be defined in terms of style, but rather in term of skill and more importantly the real essence of Hassan's work -- his ability to capture the spirit of everyday Iraqi life.
This colorful work truly depicts Hassan’s profound sense of color. His subject matter was always rendered from the environs of Iraq, including villagers, workers and horsemen. In this piece, landscape dominates and it is depicted with an impassioned delicateness. Executed with fanatically rough brushstrokes that create a vigorous and romantic interpretation, Hassan does not fail to demonstrate the range of his artistic capacity, as well as his devotion to document a sense of "Iraqiness" that was consistent with the nationalist sentiments of his time.
Hassan was keen on creating an art form that would communicate the growing feelings of patriotism amongst Iraqi citizens while simultaneously working to develop his own technical skills as well as that of his students. His work has always been defined by his technical skill and by keen eye for color. To him, color was not merely a symbol in and of itself but was the connective tissue that brought the composition together. He was fascinated by color, to the extent that he could not see figures and shapes except in terms of color ‘for it is not enough that you transfer your form from reality but you must body forth your conception of it in terms of color.’
He was constantly changing and developing his styles and has been labeled a primitivist, an impressionist, and a cubist as he never allowed himself to be defined in terms of style, but rather in term of skill and more importantly the real essence of Hassan's work -- his ability to capture the spirit of everyday Iraqi life.
This colorful work truly depicts Hassan’s profound sense of color. His subject matter was always rendered from the environs of Iraq, including villagers, workers and horsemen. In this piece, landscape dominates and it is depicted with an impassioned delicateness. Executed with fanatically rough brushstrokes that create a vigorous and romantic interpretation, Hassan does not fail to demonstrate the range of his artistic capacity, as well as his devotion to document a sense of "Iraqiness" that was consistent with the nationalist sentiments of his time.