Asim Hafidh ( ar, عاصم حافظ, (1886-1978) (alternatively Asem Hafedh or Assim Hafiz) was an Iraqi artist, educator and writer. He was amongst the first Iraqi artists to study painting in the European style and was part of a group known as the Ottoman artists who were credited with bringing easel painting to Iraq. He is noted for publishing the first Iraqi book on fine art, entitled ''Rules for Drawing from Nature''.
Life and career
Asim Hafidh was born in Mosul in 1886. He received his earliest education in Mosul and later enrolled in the Rashidiya Military Academy in Baghdad and later joined the Military Academy in Istanbul.
He left the military and travelled to Paris, where he studied painting under Professor Antoine Reynold, remaining there for four years and completing his studies in 1931. He subsequently returned to Mosul where he took up a position as an art teacher.
Along with painters,
Mohammed Hajji Selim
Mohammed Hajji Selim (1883-1941) was among the first generation of modern Iraqi artists to receive a European arts education. He was a talented amateur artist who produced still lifes, landscapes and portraits, most of which have not survived. H ...
(1883-1941),
Mohammed Saleh Zaki
Mohammed Saleh Zaki (Ar: محمد صالح زكي) (1888-1974), also known as Abu Zaid ('Zaid's father' - referring to his eldest son Zaid Mohammed Salih Zaki), was an Iraqi artist and one of the first generation of Iraqi painters to be trained in ...
(1888-1974) and
Abdul Qadir Al Rassam (1882-1952), Hafidh was part of a small group of Iraqis to study in Europe, and subsequently the first to take up easel painting and work in the European style of painting. This group became known as the Ottoman artists and were largely responsible for stimulating an interest in Western art amongst the Iraqi population, which in turn, inspired the next generation of modern Iraqi artists. Many of Iraqi’s modern artists began their careers by taking lessons with one of the Ottoman group of artists.
Work
He painted mainly in the Classical style. In 1935 he published the first Iraqi book on fine art, entitled ''Rules for Drawing from Nature''.
[”Asem Hafesh” iographical Notes Ibrahimi Collection, http://ibrahimicollection.com/node/55; Mounshed, A., “The First Painters in Iraq generations or groups?” 21 October, 2019 https://www.iraqicp.com/index.php/sections/variety/245-authors/2018-01-18-19-29-46/10602-2018-09-23-19-14-35 (translated from Arabic)]
See also
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Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
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Iraqi art
Iraqi art is one of the richest art heritages in world and refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical region of what is present day Iraq since ancient Mesopotamian periods. For centuries, the capital, Baghdad was the Med ...
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List of Iraqi artists
The following is a list of important artists, including visual arts, poets and musicians, who were born in Iraq, active in Iraq or whose body of work is primarily concerned with Iraqi themes or subject matter.
Note: This article uses Arabic nami ...
References
External links
Art Iraq Archive– includes reproductions of artworks, many of which were looted in 2003 and cannot be found in any other source
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hafidh, Asim
20th-century Iraqi painters
Artists from Baghdad
People from Mosul
1886 births
1978 deaths