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Lot Essay
Painted in the 1960s, The Fishermen, is an exceptional example of Faeq Hassan’s oeuvre. Liberated from the confines of academic style, he demonstrated his command over form and colour through structured figures and linear arrangement, resonating with the pictoriality of Mesopotamian cuneiform script. His approach was directed by the consciousness of Primitivism and a quest for a simpler way of life to avoid societal constraints and growing Western influence in his homeland. The use of flat geometric shapes, broad swaths of colour, and a straightforward rendering of form in this painting exemplify this reconnection with his heritage.
Hassan's practice was influenced by various artistic traditions traversing across different geographies and informed by ordinary life in Iraq. Having graduated in painting from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1938, he found inspiration in modern European art movements. While one can clearly draw parallels between Hassan's early abstract art and European cubism, his work also harmonises Sumerian, Islamic, and Iraqi folkloric imageries. Hassan wielded his brush with a precision akin to a knife, cutting the canvas into fragments to reduce figures into geometric forms.
Navigating the paradigms of East and West, Hassan forged a distinctly modern style that seamlessly integrated polar traditions, resulting in an aesthetic that resonated with both Eastern and Western audiences. Today, Hassan's enduring legacy as one of the pioneers of modern Iraqi art remains immortalised through his inspirational body of work.
Hassan's practice was influenced by various artistic traditions traversing across different geographies and informed by ordinary life in Iraq. Having graduated in painting from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1938, he found inspiration in modern European art movements. While one can clearly draw parallels between Hassan's early abstract art and European cubism, his work also harmonises Sumerian, Islamic, and Iraqi folkloric imageries. Hassan wielded his brush with a precision akin to a knife, cutting the canvas into fragments to reduce figures into geometric forms.
Navigating the paradigms of East and West, Hassan forged a distinctly modern style that seamlessly integrated polar traditions, resulting in an aesthetic that resonated with both Eastern and Western audiences. Today, Hassan's enduring legacy as one of the pioneers of modern Iraqi art remains immortalised through his inspirational body of work.