Fateh Moudarres

Fateh Moudarres was a Syrian painter and one of the leaders of the modern art movement in Syria. He was born in 1922 in a village near Aleppo. He taught himself realist painting techniques before becoming interested in surrealism. He studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome from 1954 to 1960, where he was influenced by surrealism and developed his distinctive style of painting. He also studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris for three years in the early 1970s. He returned to Syria and became a lecturer and dean of the faculty of fine arts at Damascus University until 1993, and then a professor. He mentored many young Syrian artists and was a friend of Wahbi Al-Hariri, a Syrian classicist painter. He participated in many solo and group exhibitions in Syria and abroad, and his paintings are in several private and public collections. He died of cancer in 1999 in Damascus. He is considered a master of Syrian surrealism and a pioneer of Syrian modern art. He used his paintings to express his views on social and political issues, as well as his personal experiences and emotions. He often depicted human figures with animal heads or distorted features, and used symbolic elements such as fire, water, and birds. He experimented with different techniques and materials, such as collage, oil, and acrylic. He was inspired by the Syrian heritage, culture, and folklore, as well as by the works of European artists such as Picasso, Dali, and Klee. He received many awards and honors for his artistic achievements, such as the Order of Merit from the Syrian government in 1997.