Iraqi art

Iraq's art has a deep heritage that extends back in time to ancient Mesopotamian art. Iraq has one of the longest written traditions in the world. Maqam traditions in music and calligraphy have survived into the modern day.[3] However, the continuity of Iraq's arts culture has been subject to the vicissitudes of invading armies for centuries. The Mongol invasion of the 13th century devastated much traditional art and craft and is generally seen as a break in the tradition of Iraqi art.[4]

Although British archaeologists excavated a number of Iraqi sites, including Nimrud, Nineveh and Tell Halaf in Iraq in the 19th century,[5] they sent many of the artefacts and statues to museums around the world. It was not until the early 20th century, when a small group of Iraqi artists were awarded scholarships to study abroad, that they became aware of ancient Sumerian art by visiting prestigious museums such as the Louvre, enabling them to reconnect with their cultural and intellectual heritage.[6] Nevertheless, figurines, dating to the Neolithic period, found at the Palace of Tell Halaf and elsewhere, attest to Iraq's ancient artistic heritage.

The Sassanids ruled the region that is now Iraq and Iran between the 3rd and 7th centuries. Sasanian art is best represented in metalwork, jewellery, architecture and wall-reliefs. Few paintings from this period have survived, but an understanding of jewellery ornamentation can be inferred from pictorial and sculptural representations.[7] The art historian, Nada Shabout, points out that Iraqi art remains largely undocumented. The West has very little idea about Iraqi art. Problems associated with documenting a complete picture of Iraqi art have been compounded by the fact that many 20th-century artists, art historians and philosophers have been forced into exile, where they are isolated from their heritage and current practices.[8] In addition, much of Iraq's art heritage has been looted or destroyed during periods of revolution, war and political unrest.[9]

During the early Islamic period, writing was transformed into an "iconophoric message...a carrier of meaning independent of its form [and] into a subject worthy of the most elaborate ornamentation."[10] Another development during this period was the use of repeating patterns or motifs on scrolls and wall-reliefs. Inherited from the Muslims, this highly stylised system of ornamentation was subsequently given the label of arabesque.[10]

Shrine in Karbala, showing use of Arabesque

The Abbasid Dynasty developed in the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 945, primarily in its heartland of Mesopotamia. The Abbasids were influenced mainly by Mesopotamian architectural traditions and later influenced neighbouring styles such as Persian as well as Central Asian styles.

Between the 8th and 13th-centuries. During the Abbasid period, pottery achieved a high level of sophistication, calligraphy began to be used to decorate the surface of decorative objects and illuminated manuscripts, particularly Qur'anic texts became more complex and stylised.[11] Iraq's first art school was established during this period, allowing artisans and crafts to flourish.[12]

At the height of the Abbasid period, in the late 12th century, a stylistic movement of manuscript illustration and calligraphy emerged. Now known as the Baghdad School, this movement of Islamic art was characterised by representations of everyday life and the use of highly expressive faces rather than the stereotypical characters that had been used in the past. The school consisted of calligraphers, illustrators, transcribers and translators, who collaborated to produce illuminated manuscripts derived from non-Arabic sources. The works were primarily scientific, philosophical, social commentary or humorous entertainments. This movement continued for at least four decades, and dominated art in the first half of the 13th century.[13] Poetry also flourished during the Abbasid period, producing notable poets including: the 9th-century Sufi poets Mansur Al-Hallaj and Abū Nuwās al-Ḥasan ibn Hānī al-Ḥakamī.

The Abbasid artist, Yahya Al-Wasiti lived in Baghdad in the late Abbasid era (12th to 13th-centuries) was the pre-eminent artist of the Baghdad school. His most well-known works include the illustrations for the book of the Maqamat (Assemblies) in 1237, a series of anecdotes of social satire written by al-Hariri.[14] Al-Waiti's illustrations served as an inspiration for the 20th-century modern Baghdad art movement.[15] Other examples of works in the style of the Baghdad School include the illustrations in Rasa'il al-Ikhwan al-Safa (The Epistles of the Sincere Brethren), (1287); an Arabic translation of Pedanius Dioscorides’ medical text, De Materia Medica (1224)[13] and the illustrated Kalila wa Dimna (Fables of Bidpai), (1222); a collection of fables by the Hindu, Bidpai translated into Arabic.[16]

Fall of Baghdad, illustration by Rashid-ad-Din's Gami' at-tawarih, early 14th century

For centuries, Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid caliphate; its library was unrivalled and a magnet for intellectuals around the known world. However, in 1258, Baghdad fell to the Mongol invaders, who pillaged the city, decimating mosques, libraries and palaces, thereby destroying most of the city's literary, religious and artistic assets. The Mongols also killed between 200,000 and one million people, leaving the population totally demoralised and the city barely habitable.[17] Iraqi art historians view this period as a time when the "chain of pictorial art" was broken.[6]

Between the years 1400-1411 Iraq was ruled by the Jalayirid dynasty. During this time, Iraqi art and culture flourished. Between 1411 and 1469, during the rule of the Qara Quyunlu dynasty artists from different parts of the eastern Islamic world were invited to Iraq. Under the patronage of Pir Budaq, son of the Qara Quyunlu ruler, Jahan Shah (r. 1439–67), Iranian styles from Tabriz and Shiraz and even the styles of Timurid Central Asia were all brought together in Iraq. Baghdad's importance as a centre of the arts declined after Pir Budaq's death in 1466. The Qara Quyunlu period ended with the advent of the Aq Quyunlu. Though noted patrons of the arts, the Aq Quyunlu mostly focus on areas outside Iraq.[18]

Between 1508 and 1534, Iraq came under the rule of the Safavid dynasty, which shifted the focus of arts to Iran. Baghdad experienced a revival in the arts during this period, and was also a centre for literary works. The poet Fuzûlî (ca. 1495–1556) wrote during the period. He wrote in the three dominant languages of his time: Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. Iraq was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1534, during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent. The Iraqi poet Fuzûlî wrote in Arabic, Persian and Turkish during this time, and continued writing poetry after Ottoman rule was established in 1534.[18] During the 16th century, Baghdad underwent another period of artistic revival; Iraqi painting from this time is called the “Baghdad school” of Ottoman miniature painting.[18]

Iraqi experienced a cultural shift between the years 1400 and 1600 CE, which is also reflected in its arts. In the 16th century, political rule in Iraq transitioned from the Turco-Mongol dynasties to the Ottoman Empire. In its past Iraq had been a centre of illuminated manuscripts but this art form experienced a general decline during this period.[18]

Statuary, wall paintings and jewellery from ancient sites in Iraq

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  The Assyrian relief of Ashur as a feather. This is one of the best-known symbols used by the people of ancient Mesopotamia.
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  Sumerian Headgear and Necklaces British Museum. This artifact was found in the tomb of Puabi in the "Royal tombs" of Ur.
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  Shalmaneser III, on the Throne Dais of Shalmaneser III at the Iraq Museum.
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  Detail of Nebuchadnezzar II's Building Inscription plaque of the Ishtar Gate, from Babylon
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  Stele with carved relief from Nimrud
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  Sumerian account of silver for the governor from Shuruppak, c. 2,500 BCE
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  Facade of the Throne Room. Babylon
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  Wall relief from Ninevah featuring an Assyrian soldier, about to behead a prisoner from the city of Lachish. 700-692 BCE. Currently housed in the British Museum
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  The Royal Lion Hunt, Nineveh (north palace), 645-635BCE
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  Lion of Babylon, date uncertain, possibly of Hittite origin
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  The Ishtar Gate
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  The Assyrian Gallery at Iraq Museum
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  Royal Akkadian head from Nineveh
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  Standard of Ur - Peace Panel - Sumer

Selected artwork and handcrafts from post-Islamic structures and sites in Iraq

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  Incantation bowl, Mesopotamia, Sassanid period, 6th or 7th century
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  Plaster with boar relief, Ctesiphon, Iraq, Sassanid period, 6th or 7th century
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  Silver bracelet, Iraq, 9th or 10th century
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  Calligraphic plate, Iraq, Abbasid period, 10th century AD
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  Coin of the Abbasids, Baghdad, 1244
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  Imam Husayn Shrine
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  Text and illustration from an Arabic translation of De Materia Medica in the style of the Baghdad School, 13th century
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  Illustration from Maqamat in the style of the Baghdad School, 13th century
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  A Mandaean silversmith at work in his Baghdad store, 1932
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  Khan Murjan, Baghdad
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  Arabesque decoration, Karbala
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  Great Mosque of Samarra
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  Fragments of stucco from Samarra, including paintings, carvings and abstract patterns
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  Carved stucco panel from the city of Samarra. Floral pattern with Abbasid geometric designs, grapes, vines, and ears of pine cones. third Islamic century AH (9th century)

Poetry and verse remains a major art form in modern Iraq and Iraqi poets were inspired by the literature of the 15th and 16th-centuries when Iraq was the centre of Arabic world. Notable 20th-century poets include Nazik Al-Malaika (1923–2007), one of the best known woman poets in the Arab world and who wrote the poem My Brother Jafaar for her brother, who was killed during the Al-Wathbah uprising in 1948; Muḥammad Mahdī al-Jawāhirī (1899–1997); Badr Shakir al-Sayyab (1926–1964); Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayati (1926–1999)[29] Ma'rif al-Rasafi (1875–1845); Abdulraziq Abdulwahed (b. 1930); the revolutionary poet, Muzaffar Al-Nawab (b. 1934); Buland Al Haidari (b. 1926) and Janil Sidiq al-Zahaiwi (1863–1936). In post-war Iraq, poetry was very much influenced by the political and social upheavals that Iraqis had experienced throughout the 20th century and with many poets living in exile, themes of 'strangeness' and 'being a stranger' often dominated contemporary poetry.[30]

Iraqi poets, including Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, often turned to Iraqi folklore which they often integrated with Western mythology.[31] He is considered one of the most influential Arab poets because he was the first to develop the free form style of poetry, and therefore a prime mover in the development of modernist poetry.[32] Contemporary Iraqi poetry is considerably freer than traditional verse, and is imbued with social and political awareness.[33]

Casting the Net, photograph by Murad al-Daghistani, whose work captured the life and work of every-day people in 1930s' Mosul

Scholars point out that very little is known about photography in Iraq.[34] Iraq was relatively slow to adopt photography as an industry and art form, due to the religious and social prohibitions on making figurative images. The first camera entered Iraq as late as 1895 when an Iraqi photographer, Abdul-Karim Tabouni, from Basra, returned to Iraq following a trip to India where he had studied the art of photography. He founded a photographic studio and practiced this profession for many years.[35]

In the 19th century, demand for photography came from three main sources: archaeological expeditions who needed to document sites as well as artefacts that were too cumbersome or too fragile to transport; religious missions who documented religious sites and tourists travelling through the Middle East as part of a grand tour. In the first decades of the 20th century, the military also became an important source of business as officers sought photographs and photographic equipment. [36]

In the first decades of the 20th century, several factors contributed to the spread of photography. Firstly, British and European archaeologists began using photography to document ancient sites in the second half of the 19th century. Religious missionaries were also using the camera to document historic religious sites. These activities exposed local Iraqis to the technology, and provided young men with employment opportunities as photographers and camera-men assisting archaeological teams. For instance, throughout the 1920s and early 1930s, the American anthropologist, Professor Henry Field was involved in several expeditions to ancient Mesopotamian sites and in his publications, he acknowledged the assistance of Iraqi photographer by the name of Shauqat (who was a nephew of the photographer, Abdul-Karim Tiouti). The writer, Gertrude Bell also reports training a young boy in the process of developing photographs in Baghdad in 1925.[37] A second factor was that, in the 1920s, King Faisal I arranged for a photographic portrait of his wife, thereby popularising photographic portraiture.[38]

In the years following the First World War, a number of photographers arrived in Iraq. Some of these were displaced Armenians, who had prior experience working with precision equipment, including cameras.[39] These early photographers were mostly concerned with photographing military scenes and personnel. Around this time, a photographer named Tartaran, set up a studio at the entrance to the Mosul Elementary School.[40] From there, local school children could observe the photographer at work. The influential Mosul photographer, Murad al-Daghistani, who specialised in capturing the life and work of every-day people in Mosul, may have developed his passion for photography after watching Tartaran developing photographs in his dark-room. By the 1940s, the number of photographic studios had proliferated, especially in Mosul, Basra and Baghdad. Important 20th-century Iraqi photographers include: Amri Salim, Hazem Bak, Murad Daghistani, Covadis Makarian, Sami Nasrawi, Ahmed Al-Qabbani, Jassem Al-Zubaidi, Fouad Shaker and Rashad Ghazi amongst others.[38]

The earliest photographers used the medium to record an Iraqi way of life that was in danger of being lost as the country 'modernised'. The photographer, Latif al-Ani, who is often described as the "father of Iraqi photography", was very much concerned with documenting cosmopolitan Iraqi life in the 1950s, as he saw it.[41] By the mid-20th century, photography had become a popular medium for expressing social and political concerns. The artist, Jananne al-Ani has explored the dichotomy of Orient/ Occident in her work, and has also used photography to question the wearing of the veil while Halim Alkarim uses blurred images to suggest the political instability of Iraq.[42]

Mudhif, traditional, ceremonial reed dwelling used by the Marsh Arabs of southern Iraq

Basra streetscape, 1954, showing prevalence of shanashol window treatment prior to the period of ‘modernisation’

Modern architecture presented contemporary architects with a major challenge. A continuous tradition of both domestic and public architecture was evident, but failed to conform with modern materials and methods.[33] From the early 20th century, architecture employed new styles and new materials and public taste became progressively modern. The period was characterised by original designs produced by local architects, who had been trained in Europe, including: Mohamed Makiya, Makkiyya al-Jadiri, Mazlum, Qatan Adani and Rifat Chadirji.[43]

Like visual artists, Iraqi architects searched for a distinctly national style of architecture and this became a priority in the 20th century. Mohammed Makkiyya and Rifat Chadirji were the two most influential architects in terms of defining modern Iraqi architecture.[44] The architect, Chadirji, who wrote a seminal book on Iraqi architecture, called this approach international regionalism.[45] He explains:

"From the very outset of my practice, I thought it imperative that, sooner or later, Iraq create for itself an architecture regional in character yet simultaneously modern, part of the current international avant-garde style."[46]

Architects sought an architectural language that would remind visitors of ancient Iraqi architectural history.[47] To that end, architects used Iraqi motifs in their designs[48] and incorporated traditional design practices, such as temperature control, natural ventilation, courtyards, screen walls and reflected light within their work.[47] Architects also became designers who designed furniture and lighting with reference to the peculiarities of Iraqi climate, culture and material availability.[33]

As cities underwent a period of "modernisation" in the early decades of the 20th century, traditional structures came under threat and subject to demolition.[49] The mudhif (or reed dwelling) or the bayt (houses) with features such as the shanashol (the distinctive oriel window with timber lattice-work) and bad girs (wind-catchers) were being lost with alarming haste.[50]

The architect, Rifat Chadirji along with his father, Kamil Chadirji, feared the vernacular architecture and ancient monuments would be lost to the new development associated with the oil boom in the mid-century.[51] They documented the region photographically and in 1995, published a book entitled, The Photographs of Kamil Chadirji: Social Life in the Middle East, 1920-1940, which recorded the buildings and lifestyles of the Iraqi people.[52]

The artist, Lorna Selim, who taught drawing at Baghdad University's Department of Architecture, in the 1960s took her students to sketch traditional buildings along the Tigris and was especially interested in exposing young architects to Iraq's vernacular architecture, alley-ways and historical monuments. The work of Selim and Chadirji inspired a new generation of architects to consider including traditional design features - such as Iraqi practices of temperature control, natural ventilation, courtyards, screen walls and reflected light - in their designs.[53]

During the first three decades of the 20th century, there was little progress in art. Following World War One, a group of Polish officers, who had been part of the Foreign Legion,[54] arrived in Baghdad and introduced local artists to a European style of painting, which in turn fostered a public appreciation of art. The Institute of Fine Arts and the Fine Arts Society were established in 1940-41[55] and the Iraqi Artists' Society was founded in 1956, after which many exhibitions were mounted.[56]

In 1958, British rule was overthrown and Abdul Karim Qasim assumed power. This led to triumphant demonstrations and expressions of national pride. In early 1959, Qasim commissioned Jawad Saleem to create Nasb al-Hurriyah (Monument to Freedom,) to commemorate Iraq's independence.[57] Artists began to look to their history for inspiration and employed arabesque geometry and calligraphy as visual elements in their compositions, and referred to folk tales and scenes drawn from everyday life for artistic inspiration.[58]

In the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the Ba'ath Party mounted a program to beautify the city of Baghdad which led to numerous public art works being commissioned. Designed to instil a sense of national pride within the population, and to immortalise the leader, Saddam Hussein, these works provided work opportunities to the nation's architects, engineers and sculptors.[59] During this period, artists showed a distinct preference for abstract works, which allowed them to evade censorship.[60] Baghdad is now dotted with monuments, including Al-Shaheed Monument and The Monument to the Unknown Soldier and the Victory Arch, along with many smaller statues, fountains and sculptures; all constructed in the second half of the 20th century, and showing increasing levels of abstraction over time.[61]

A notable feature of the Iraqi visual arts scene lies in artists' desires to link tradition and modernity in artworks. For a number of artists, the use of calligraphy or script has become an important part of integrating traditional artistic elements into an abstract artwork. In this way, the use of letters connects Iraqi artists with the broader hurufiyya movement (also known as the North African Lettrist Movement). The Iraqi artist, Madiha Omar, who was active from the mid-1940s, was one of the pioneers of the hurufiyya movement, since she was the first to explore the use of Arabic script in a contemporary art context and exhibited hurufiyya-inspired works in Washington as early as 1949.[62]

Artists’ desire to tap into Iraq’s art heritage within the context of contemporary artworks stimulated the formation of art groups, many of which codified their aims and objectives in manifestos that were published, often in the local press. [63] These developments contributed to a unique aesthetic in the contemporary Iraqi art movement. Art historians have commented: [64]

Accordingly, the 20th-century Iraqi arts scene is notable for the number of different art groups or art movements that emerged in the post-colonial period. Each of these groups sought to forge a national art aesthetic that acknowledged Iraq's deep art heritage and incorporated it in contemporary artworks. Although there were tensions in the different visions of these groups,[65] collectively, they actively searched for new national vision which would enable the country to develop internally, as well as take its place on a world stage.[66] These groups include:

The Pioneers, Iraq's first modern art group, was formed by painter, Faiq Hassan in the 1930s. This group was stimulated by the contact between Iraqi artists and European artists who had resided in Iraq during the war.[67] This group consciously developed a distinct Iraqi style by incorporating local phenomena and traditional village life into artworks.[68] They rejected the artificial atmosphere of the artist’s studio and encouraged artists to engage with nature and traditional Iraqi life. They held their first exhibition in 1931.[69]

This group was responsible for taking the first steps towards bridging the gap between modernity and heritage. Artists active in the group had been educated abroad, returned with a European aesthetic, yet wanted to paint local scenes and landscapes. Members included: Faeq Hassan, Jawad Saleem, Ismail al Sheikhli, Nadhim Ramzi and the architect-painter, Kamil Chadirji.[70] The group continued to meet into the 1970s, although some of its high profile members withdrew from the group at different times. For instance, Faeq Hassan left the group in 1962.[71] Jawad Saleem and Shakir Hassan Al Said also broke away from the Pioneers and formed a different group in 1951.[72]

Formed in 1950, the Jum'at al Ruwwad (Avantgarde Group) was inspired by Mespotamian art and Iraqi folklore. It later changed its name to the Primitive Group.[73] The group was initially led by Faeq Hassan (Baghdad 1914-1992) and later by Isma'il al-Shaykhali (Turkey b. 1927). Artists in this group were inspired by ancient art of the 13th-century Baghdad School.[15] Members of this group included: Ismail Al-Sheikhly, Issa Hanna Dabish, Zeid Salih, Mahmoud Sabri, Khalid Al Qassab, Dr Qutaiba Al Sheikh Nouri, Dr Nouri Mutafa Bahjat, Kadhem Hayder, Nuri al-Rawi, Ghazi Al Saudi, Mahmoud Ahmed, Mohammed Ali Shakir, Sami Haqqi, Hassan Abid Alwan, Jawad Saleem and Lorna Saleem.[74]

Under B'ath rule, the group grew in prestige, and its members were frequently offered lucrative posts at the Ministry of Culture.[75] This group was one of the more enduring, and continued meeting throughout the 1950s.[76]

The original bust of the Sumerian Queen, Shuba'ad, displayed at the Iraq Museum, for which al-Kahal made a replica

Established in 1951, by Jawad Saleem and Shakir Hassan Al Said, after they broke away from the Pioneers group,[72] its aims were to reassert a national identity and use art to build a distinctive Iraqi identity which referenced its ancient heritage and tradition.[77] Hassan, the group's leader promoted the idea of istilham al-turath – "seeking inspiration from tradition" and wrote a manifesto.[78] The co-founder, Hassan, wrote that, after the 1958 independence, artists were no longer responsible for preserving art and culture, instead the state was responsible for "turath" - safeguarding public taste; all that remained was for artists to absorb turath, free from historical responsibility.[79] Hassan, and others, believed that earlier artists, such as Jawad Saleem, had shouldered too great a burden of historical responsibility.[80] This group is credited with being the first Islamic art group to develop a local style.[19]

While the Modern Art Group sought to connect with Islamic tradition, the group was distinguished from earlier art groups in that it sought to express modern life, while keeping tradition and heritage in perspective.[81] Key members of this group included: Nuri al-Rawi (b. 1925) who became the Minister for Culture; Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (1920-1994); Mohammed Ghani Hikmat (1929-2011); Khaled al-Rahal (1926-1987) and 'Atta Sabri (1913-1987), all of whom had been members from the group's foundation,[82] as well as Mahmud Sabri (1927-2012); Tariq Mazlum (b.1933), Nuri al-Rawi (b. 1925), Mahmoud Sabri (b. 1927), Ata Sabri (b.1913), and Kadhim Hayder.[83] The Baghdad Modern Art Group was moribund within a decade of its formation.[84] One of its co-founders, Jawad Saleem died in 1961, while the other co-founder, Shakir Hassan Al Said, suffered a mental and spiritual crisis as a result of the continuing turbulence and political instability following the 1958 revolution and the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy.[85]

The Impressionists emerged in 1953, and organised around the artist, Hafidh al-Droubi (1914-1991), who had trained in London and had turned to impressionism and cubism.[86] In the second half of the 20th century, a trend towards abstraction was evident amongst Iraqi artists, who wanted to embrace a more modern aesthetic.[87] However, al-Droubi pointed out that the Iraqi landscape, with its endless horizons, bright colours and open fields, was quite different to European landscapes and required different techniques. Unlike the art groups that preceded it, the Impressionists published no manifesto, and lacked the philosophical underpinnings evident in the Baghdad Modern Art Group or the New Vision.[88]

Established in 1965, the Al Mujadidin was formed by a group of younger artists including: Salim al-Dabbagh, Faik Husein, Saleh al-Jumai'e and Ali Talib.[89] Group members were united along intellectual, rather than stylistic grounds. This group, which lasted only four years,[71] rebelled against traditional art styles and explored the use of new materials such as collage, aluminum and mono-type.[90] These artists exhibited distinct individual styles, but often chose war and conflict for their themes, especially the 1967 war.[91]

Simply known as the al-Zawiya group, it was founded in 1967 by Faeq Hassan, against a highly political backdrop. This group wanted to use art to focus on social and political issues and to serve national causes. The group held just one exhibition in its inaugural year.[92]

Following decades of war and conflict, culminating in the July Revolution of 1958, artists began to feel free to find inspiration in a variety of sources.[93] The demise of the Baghdad Modern Art Group contributed to an environment where many artists worked individually, developing their own style, while still maintaining the broad trends of the Modern Baghdad Art group. Founded in 1968, by artists Ismail Fatah Al Turk; Muhammed Muhr al-Din, Hashimi al-Samarchi, Salih Jumai'e, Rafa al-Nasiri and Dia Azzawi,[94] Al-Ru’yah al-Jadida, represented a free art style where many artists believed that they needed to be true to their own era.[84] This group promoted the idea of freedom of creativity within a framework of heritage.[69]

The group's manifesto articulated the need for new and daring ideas,[94] and read in part:

"We believe that heritage is not a prison, a static phenomenon or a force capable of repressing creativity so long as we have the freedom to accept or challenge its norms... We are the new generation. We demand change, progression and creativity. Art stands in opposition to stasis. Art is continually creative. It is a mirror to the present moment and it’s the soul of the future."[95]

Founded in around 1971 by the Iraqi artist and intellectual, Shakir Hassan Al Said, this group sought a new artistic identity, drawn from within Iraqi culture and heritage. The group's founder, Al Said, published a manifesto for the group in the Iraqi newspaper, al-Jamhuriyyah, in which he outlined his vision for a national art aesthetic.[96] The objectives of the One Dimension Group were multi-dimensional and complex. For al-Said, the one dimension was "eternity' - the relationship between the past and the present - the linking of Iraq's artistic heritage with modern abstract art.[97] The group held their first exhibition in 1971.[98]

In practice, this group blended Arabic motifs, especially calligraphy, albeit in a deconstructed form, and geometric shapes into their contemporary and abstract artworks.[99] The impact of this group was significant for the Calligraphic School of Art, which was based on the principles set out by Al-Said.[100] The New Vision had a lasting impact on the pan-Arab region, through the art movement known as hurufiyya.[101]

Founding members of the One Dimension group include: Rafa al-Nasiri, Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, Nuri al-Rawi, Dia Azzawi, Jamil Hamoudi, Hashem Samarchi (b. 1939), Hashem al-Baghdadi (1917-1973) and Saad Shaker (1935-2005).[102]

Other art groups, including the Triangle Group, the Shadows (formed by Ali Talib) and the Academicians formed throughout the 1970s, but few lasted for more than a year or two.[100]

Established in 2007, this group of artists, many students at the Institute of Fine Arts, work on public projects in order to beautify the city of Baghdad. Paid a very modest stipend by the Ministry of Works, these artists have painted concrete slabs along the Tigris River, thereby transforming ruins left over from the revolution into modern works of art. The slabs had previously served as protection from bombardment. Although this group did little to develop a new aesthetic, it was able to provide employment and encouragement for young artists, who at that time were operating in a void since most of the artists of the preceding generation were living in exile.[103] Artists active in Jamaat el-Jidaar include Ali Saleem Badran and Gyan Shrosbree.[104]

Artist, Dia Azzawi, in front of one of his paintings

Iraq has produced a number of world-class painters and sculptors including Ismail Fatah Al Turk (1934–2008), Khalid Al-Jadir (1924–1990), and Mohammed Ghani Hikmat.[29]

Faeq Hassan (1914–1992), considered the founder of modern plastic art in Iraq, was among several Iraqi artists who were selected to study art at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts before the Second World War. Hassan and the art group he founded formed the foundation of Iraq's strong 20th-century artistic tradition. Hassan founded the Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad; many of Iraq's best known artists studied at this institution.[105]

Jawad Saleem (b. 1919) is a painter and sculptor from Baghdad who (together with Mohammed Ghani (1929–2011) and Hassan Shakir) (1925–2004), founded the influential Baghdad Modern Art Group in 1951. Saleem was commissioned to create the Monument of Freedom in Baghdad's city centre overlooking Liberation Square.[106] Saleem, and his student, Khaled al-Rahal have been described as "the two pillars of modern Iraqi art."[107]

Dia Azzawi's (b. 1939) work, described as contemporary art, includes references to Arabic calligraphy, as well as Sumerian and Assyrian art.[106] Azzawi has been the inspiration for many contemporary calligraffiti artists.

Jamil Hamoudi (1924–2003) is both a painter and sculptor. Like Azzawi, Hamoudi also studied at the Baghdad School of Fine Art. He was interested in the cubist movement and in 1947, he self-identified with the surrealist movement, only to later distance himself citing "A dark, saturnine atmosphere emanated from [their canvases] the effect of which was to arouse a feeling of despair in human beings." His paintings are brightly coloured and make use of shapes like circles, triangles and arches. For sculpture he frequently uses plaster, stone, wood, metal, copper, glass, marble, Plexiglas and ceramics.[106] In 1973 he was appointed to the directorship of the Fine Arts at the Ministry of Culture.

Other notable artists include: Madiha Omar (1908–2005) who is regarded as a pioneer of the Hurufiyya movement; Shakir Hassan Al Said (1925–2004); Hassan Massoudy (b. 1944); Khaled al-Rahal (1926–1987); Saadi Al Kaabi (b 1937); Ismael Al Khaid (b. abt 1900) and Rafa al-Nasiri (b. 1940).

Contemporary painting and sculpture by Iraqi artists

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  Al-Shaheed Monument Monument in Baghdad, sculpture designed by Ismail Fatah al-Turk, 1983
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  Swords of Qādisīyah (also known as the Victory Arch) by Khaled al-Rahal and Mohammed Ghani Hikmat, 1989
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  Motherhood (also known as Mother and Child) statue by Khaled al-Rahal, 1961
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  Ecstasy (Al-Wajd) by Hassan Massoudy, 2001