Shakir Hassan Al-Said

Collection of the Artist, Baghdad
Athar Art Gallery, Baghdad
Private Collection, Amman (acquired directly in 2003)

Baghdad, Institute of Fine Arts, Solo Show, 1954
Baghdad, Athar Art Gallery, Shakir Hassan Al-Said; The General Retrospective Exhibition, October 2001
Sharjah, Sharjah Biennial, Honorary Exhibition for Shakir Hassan Al-Said, 2003
Doha, Bissan Gallery, Selected Paintings: Shakir Hassan Al-Said, 2003
Amman, Dar Al-Anda Gallery, 50 Years of Creation of Shakir Hassan Al-Said, 2003
Tunis, Musée de la Ville de Tunis, Exposition Honorable des Oeuvres de Shakir Hassan Al-Said, 2005
Paris, Maison de l' UNESCO, Hommage à Shakir Hassan Al-Said, 2007

This work is in good condition. There is minor craquelure apparent across the surface, mainly on the upper section and centre right. There is light discolouration of varnish visible throughout, inherent of the artist's working process. The canvas is slightly slacking. The condition can be further enhanced with a light surface clean. Small spots of surface abrasion, flaking and paint loss are visible on the lower left edge, centre right corner and upper left corner upon closer inspection. Due some abrasion on the lower part of the canvas,the artist has himself restored the work on the reverse of the canvas. Colours: The colours in the catalogue illustration are accurate, with the overall tonality being slightly deeper.
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The Woman, The Moon and The Branch by renowned Iraqi artist Shakir Hassan Al-Said is one of the most vibrant and iconic works to appear at auction by the artist.

Throughout his lifetime, Shakir Hassan Al-Said has been the most versatile Iraqi modernist of his generation – a curious, emancipated and adventurous explorer that has constantly pushed the boundaries of Iraqi modernism. At the onset of his career in the early 1950s, he questioned notions of Iraqi national identity. Alongside Jewad Selim, they challenged prescribed norms with the vigour, naiveté and idealism that youth inspires. The result was the establishment of one of the greatest influential art movements in the Arab world: The Baghdad Group of Modern Art. The group had the challenging task to "reform" and rethink the artistic developments of a modern discourse largely defined by opulent and classical markers of heritage. The group, alongside the Art and Liberty Movement in Egypt was one of the few to have published a manifesto expressing their vision and concerns: "At a time when the Western Civilisation is using the most modern approach to express artistically its aspirations for freedom, our people do not realise the importance of painting as a stand of judgement when a country is in the process of awakening to real freedom. [...] The convention that the creative idea is separate from the style is a relic of the early 19th century Romanticism, and we feel under no obligation to adhere to it if it damages the coherency of the work of art. On the other hand, our efforts will be in vain unless they show evidence of innovation and creativity.  What we are exhibiting today, is an example of many different trends of modern art – impressionist, expressionist, surrealist, cubist and abstract art – and is the first kind to take place here since the Second World War. It is striving to define a creative identity for our country. [...] We, standing at the crossroads, have to decide what are the elements of our civilisation which we should integrate in our current work. In other words, we have to combine our experience of Western art with our local 'genius loci'." Deciphering the essence of this groundbreaking manifesto is crucial to understanding the importance of this work as a stepping stone into a new artistic era.

This iconic depiction of a Mesopotamian woman stands out as the artist’s clear shift towards Cubism and abstraction – this element and figure are central to the composition. The dense, angular and exaggerated lines suggest a strong parallel with Picasso’s evolution from his tribal African movement in the early 1900s to his Cubist period around 1910. This development captured in the composition reflects the evolution of Al-Said’s body of work from the 1950s; drawing on ancient folkloric iconography from the Mesopotamian region cast in a modernist pictorial form, i.e. the crescent moon, a widely used symbol in ancient Mesopotamia for many deities, such as Sin or Ishtar. This harmonious weaving was the driving force behind the artistic impulses of Shakir Hassan Al-Said. Experimentation is also important in this work; it mirrors the artist’s evolution of thought and exploration towards highly complex philosophical and mystical notions derived from Islam and Sufism.

When we take a closer look at picture, the figure appears to be looking away, to the future – a symbol of Iraq's walk towards modernisation, particularly at a time when the country was going through major socio-political change. She holds in one hand a branch, in the other, a mirror and behind her is the crescent moon. The earthy colours are reminiscent of a symphony coming together of nature’s forms and elements.

Al-Said’s works from the late 1940s up until 1954, when he left for Paris, were characterized by a palette that drew from the same tribal colours used in Iraqi ancient carpets. It reflected a very naive approach to art, largely inspired by religious mythology, Arabian stories and folkloric primitive pictures.

In The Woman, The Moon and The Branch, Shakir Hassan Al-Said once again proves that his imagination, historical interpretation and vernacular memory, merge past and present in beautiful harmony. It is this plethora of characteristics that make him one of the most important figures of the Arab artistic heritage.