Faik Hassan

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner's father in 1962
Thence by descent 

Baghdad, Unknown Location, Faiq Hassan (Solo Exhibition), 1962 

Condition: This work is in failry good condition. Upon closer inspection under the UV light, there are two cuts on the painting; these have been covered with some paint. Part of the background colour has been overpainted. The picture would benefit from having this repaint removed and a small amount of texturing and retouching carried out along the scratches. Colour: The colour in the catalogue illustration is accurate, with the overall tonality being softer and more yellow in the original work. The catalogue illustration does not convey the grey and brown floor colour.
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Two seminal works by Iraqi Modernist Faiq Hassan

Faik Hassan was born in Baghdad in 1914. After discovering his artistic talent at a young age, he was sent abroad to Paris to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1938. Upon his return to Baghdad in 1939, he founded the Department of Painting at the Institute of Fine Arts. He also established a number of artistic groups including Société Primitive in 1940 (later named the Pioneers Group in 1950), and the Corner Group. The Pioneers did not publish a group manifesto, but there was a shared desire among the participants to shed the confines of the artist studio and paint directly from the surrounding environment. The group exhibited in a private home until the National Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad was established in 1962.

Hassan was a key figure in the evolution of contemporary art in Iraq. Marked by technical skill and variation through a vast exploration of stylistic genres, he has been labelled a primitivist, an impressionist, and a cubist. His exploration of styles prompted a break with academic restrictions, notably first with his contact with Polish painters in Iraq which led to his early impressionist-inspired works. This influence was short-lived, and broke down once he took up a new affinity with abstraction:

"I have tried many experiments and pursued many styles, but this has not been my sole goal. I have been trying to make my art very close to myself and make myself a mirror reflecting truly society and humanity". (Nizar Salim, Sartec, Iraq Contemporary Art, Vol. 1 Paintings, Lausanne, 1977, p.69)

He is most commonly known for his realistic depictions of everyday life in Iraq, whereby he looks to "seek the truth in order to create an original art of which [his] homeland and future generations will be proud" (Sartec, Lausanne, 1977, p.71). His works are dominated by Iraqi villagers, labourers, horsemen, and landscapes, all conveyed with an emotional fragility, regardless of style. Following his uptake of abstraction, the artist became concerned that he was abandoning his identity, causing him to return to his original Iraqi-influenced realism while retaining traces of the stylistic experiences he had accumulated thus far. Here his works show a broader understanding of form and colour that is strengthened by his abandonment of the academic constraints of style.

Faik Hassan’s works from the 1960s inhabit this sense of 'Iraqiness', this time his mode of depiction is directed by an awareness of Primitivism. With Fishermen and Woman with a Rooster, Sotheby’s is delighted to present two works by Faik Hassan from this period of exploration of both the primitive and Abstract Expressionism. Woman with Rooster and The Fishermen both embody Hassan’s break with academic art and his search for a simpler depiction of life, away from the social restrictions and advancing Westernisation of his homeland. This return to his ancestral roots is further intensified by flat geometric forms, expansive blocks of colour, and a simplicity to the representation of form. 

During his career, Hassan also showed a propensity for realism and an extensive range of artistic ability, consistent with the nationalist sentiments of his time. It is no surprise that today the artist has come to be remembered as "the master" or "the teacher", and a pioneer of Iraqi contemporary art.