Lot 263: Jamil Hammoudi , Iraqi 1924-2003 Composition sur le Mot Al-Arabie (Composition on the Arabic Word ) gouache on paper

signed and dated 1947 ; signed on the reverse gouache on paper

measurements note 51 by 44cm.; 20 by 17 1/4 in.

André Parinaud, Jamil Hamoudi, Paris 1987, p. 17, illustrated in colour
Paul Balta, Jamil Hamoudi Precurseur, Paris 1986, n.p, illustrated in colour

Private Collection, Monaco (acquired directly from the artist in 2002)

Jamil Hammoudi's work was a seminal point in modern Arab art. The first man to employ letters in painting, his was an entirely new approach to artistic composition. Hammoudi combined the traditional artistic expression of his native culture with the artistic practice of the European art movement, as illustrated by the quotation above from his first exhibition with the One Dimension group. His work is of huge importance both to the development of Iraqi art, and to the entire pan-Arab world. From this point forward the calligraphic line and the incorporation of the word became inherent to the work of many artists across the Middle East. This truly significant artist developed a methodology that would impact on the entire middle-eastern artistic community. An innovation that proved the point at which the Arab art movement had come into its own. When artists developed the confidence to break boundaries set by masters of a different culture, and to establish a manner of depiction unique to themselves. He says of his work "The very moment at which the idea came to me to seek inspiration in the Arabic letters in art was a kind of supplication and prayer for a soul intimidated by the emptiness which dominated European life. Fear from being lost in a culture, which did not relate to my intellectual and national experience... I did not find an expedient more suitable and sacred than the Arabic letter to which I resort to satisfy my thirst for expression and creativeness." (The artists cited in: Nizar Salim, Iraq Contemporary Art, Iraq, p. 206). This piece is a perfect example of Jamil Hammoudi's oeuvre, incorporating his painterly style with the calligraphy of his native culture. The Cubist element of this work is undeniable, the broken planes, the alternative angles; indeed at first glance the work seems not to include calligraphy at all. Yet upon close inspection the letters are revealed. This type of composition is truly peerless. The artist is so skilful and so intelligent as to combine his western training with his middle-eastern background. Simultaneously acknowledging both by creating a form of expression that can be read and appreciated, artistically and intellectually, by the products of both cultures. Hammoudi's influence and innovation had such impact, that an entire movement came to be known as Hammoudism. A true intellectual, Jamil Hammoudi also published the magazine Modern Thought, al-Fikr al-Hadith, in Baghdad. The original lithrographed template for the cover, designed by Jawad Salim, is lot 258 in this sale.