Shakir Hassan Al Said

Shakir Hassan Al Said was an Iraqi painter, sculptor and writer, who is considered one of Iraq's most innovative and influential artists. An artist, philosopher, art critic and art historian, he was actively involved in the formation of two important art groups that influenced the direction of post-colonial art in Iraq. He, and the art groups in which he was involved, shaped the modern Iraqi art movement and bridged the gap between modernity and heritage. His theories charted a new Arabic art aesthetic which allowed for valuations of regional art through lenses that were uniquely Arabic rather than Western. He was born in 1925 in Baghdad, into a poor family. He studied art in Baghdad and Paris, and exhibited his works in various countries. He also taught at the American University of Beirut. He returned to Baghdad in 1959, and studied the work of ancient and medieval Arab artists, as well as Sufism and mysticism. He gradually abandoned figurative expressions and centered his compositions on Arabic calligraphy. He co-founded the Baghdad Modern Art Group in 1951, and the Hurufiyya movement in 1970, both of which aimed to achieve an artistic approach that was both modern and embracing of tradition. He also founded the Saqqi Khanesh, a group of artists who shared a studio and a vision of art as a spiritual quest. He died in 2004 in Baghdad, from an unknown cause. He is remembered as a martyr and a hero by the Iraqi artists and the progressive forces in Iraq.