Much like its poets, Iraq’s painters and sculptors are among the best in the Arab world, and some of them are world-class. The first generation, which became active in the 1940s, included Faiq Hasan and Ismail al-Shaykhali. Their paintings are figurative works in the impressionist style. Other important artists of this generation are Jawad Salim, Nouri al-Rawi, Mahmoud Sabri, and Tariq Madhloum. Jawad Salim was deeply influenced by the cubist style of Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, as well as by ancient Mesopotamian art and the Soviet style known as socialist realism. To a younger generation, active since the late 1950s, belong painters Diya al-Azzawi and Hamid al-Attar.Baghdad is rich in open-air sculptures and monuments designed by many of these great artists. Many of these sculptures and monuments are dedicated to the Iraqi people and the rich history of the country.
Today's treasure is Jawad Salim (1920–1961), a pioneering Iraqi artist who died prematurely at the age of 41 and the sculptor of the most famous monument in Baghdad, The Monument of Liberty.
Born into a family of painters, Jawad Salim came from Mosul. After studying under his father, Salim traveled to Paris and Rome to train from 1938 to 1940. He worked in the Baghdad Archeological Museum during World War II and became interested in sculpture. Salim continued his studies at the Slade School of Art in London from 1946 to 1949. After returning to Iraq, he was given the position of head of the sculpture department and the Institute of Fine Arts and was commissioned to create the Monument to Liberty by the newly established Iraqi Republic in 1958. Salim also worked as a graphic artist and illustrator.
The Monument of Liberty, one of Baghdad's most recognizable icons, adorns the Tahrir Square at the heart of Baghdad's eastern bank. The monument was to become a metaphor for republican Iraq's struggle for justice and freedom. Although many other monuments were commissioned and erected in Saddam's era, none were able to eclipse or capture the aura of Nusb Al-Tahrir. It has also become a common motif for many Iraqi and Arab poets.
In 1950, the Iraqi artist Faiq Hassan (1914–1992) founded The Pioneer Society, paving the way for several art collectives in the country, including the Baghdad Modern Art Group, founded by Salim in 1951. The latter soon emerges as the most influential art movement in the country. Debates within the group on the synthesis of tradition and modernity spark critical theories that influence several generations of artists. Artistic debate in Baghdad—and Beirut—includes not only artists but also critics, poets, writers, and architects. Their influence is felt in intellectual circles all over the Arab world.
