Noor Soussi
Head of Department
Lot 17*
Faeq Hassan(Iraq, 1914-1992)Fragments
24 May 2023, 16:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £44,800 inc. premium
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Nima Sagharchi
Group Head
Faeq Hassan (Iraq, 1914-1992)
Fragments
oil on canvas, framed
signed " Faeq Hassan" and dated "977" in Arabic (lower right), executed in 1977
72 x 193cm (28 3/8 x 76in).
oil on canvas, framed
signed " Faeq Hassan" and dated "977" in Arabic (lower right), executed in 1977
72 x 193cm (28 3/8 x 76in).
Footnotes
Provenance:
Property from a private collection, Germany
Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner's family.
"When he took a plunge into abstract painting, he found
inspiration mostly in Iraqi folk arts. He would either balance his
colour planes seemingly geometrically or so manipulate them as to
suggest ancient Iraqi sites"
- Jabra Ibrahim Jabra
"Fragments" is not only a departure from the artists usual style but also an exceedingly rare piece. This painting is the largest abstract work by Hassan to ever come to auction
Against a pale indigo background, jigsaw-like fragments float around the canvas, evoking the fragmented nature of ancient Iraqi ruins. Just as these ruins only survive in pieces, like a puzzle waiting to be solved, so too do the fragments in this painting appear to be disconnected and incomplete. Dominated by shades of blue, they convey a sense of mystery and nostalgia, inviting the viewer to contemplate the ancient history of Iraq and the beauty of its surviving fragments.