# Jamil Hamoudi > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jamil_Hamoudi > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Jamil_Hamoudi.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamil_Hamoudi > Source revision: 1345587273 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Iraqi artist}} {{Infobox artist | bgcolour = | name = Jamil Hamoudi | image = جميل حمودي 1962.jpg | imagesize = | caption = | birth_name = جميل حمودي | birth_date = 1924 | birth_place = | death_date = 2003 | death_place = | field = Painter and sculptor | training = [Baghdad College of Fine Arts](/source/Baghdad_College_of_Fine_Arts), [École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts](/source/%C3%89cole_Nationale_Sup%C3%A9rieure_des_Beaux-Arts), [Académie Julian](/source/Acad%C3%A9mie_Julian), and [École du Louvre](/source/%C3%89cole_du_Louvre) | movement = [Abstract art](/source/Abstract_art); [One Dimension Group](/source/One_Dimension_Group), [Hurufiyya movement](/source/Hurufiyya_movement) | works = | patrons = | influenced by = | influenced = | awards = }} Jamil Hamoudi (1924–2003) (Arabic: جميل حمودي) was an [Iraqi](/source/Iraqis) artist who became the Director of the Ministry of Culture's Fine Arts Department. He is noted for his involvement in various Iraqi and Arabic art movements including the [Hurufiyya movement](/source/Hurufiyya_movement) which bridged the gap between traditional and modern Iraqi art. ==Life and career== Hamoudi started out as a self-taught sculptor in [Baghdad](/source/Baghdad). He developed a naturalistic style.{{cite web|title=Jamil Hamoudi|url=http://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/artist/iraq/jamil-hamoudi/|website=Barjeel Art Foundation|access-date=18 February 2018}} In 1944, he was taken on to teach drawing and art history at a school in Baghdad. At the same time he attended classes at the [Baghdad College of Fine Arts](/source/Baghdad_College_of_Fine_Arts). He graduated in 1945 and in 1947, took a government scholarship to go to [Paris](/source/Paris), to study at the [École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts](/source/%C3%89cole_Nationale_Sup%C3%A9rieure_des_Beaux-Arts), [Académie Julian](/source/Acad%C3%A9mie_Julian), and [École du Louvre](/source/%C3%89cole_du_Louvre). He also Hamoudi researched the Assyrian-Babylonian art and languages.Naef, S., ''A la Recherche d'une Modernité Arabe: L'évolution des arts Plastiques en Egypte, au Liban et en Irak'', Slatkine, 1996, p. 394 In 1943, he created what has been described as the first Iraqi sculpture; a figure of the 11th-century philosopher-poet, [Al-Maʿarri](/source/Al-Ma%CA%BFarri).Beaugé, F. and Clément, J-F., ''L'image dans le Monde Arabe,''CNRS Éditions, 1995, p. 41 By 1947, he was experimenting with abstract paintings using Arabic characters, and as such was one of the early pioneers of hurufiyya art.Inati, S.C., ''Iraq: Its History, People, and Politics,'' Humanity Books, 2003, p.76 This led him on a path to discover the graphic possibilities of the letter in art.Beaugé, F. and Clément, J-F., ''L'image dans le Monde Arabe,''CNRS Éditions, 1995, p. 147 Certain art historians regard him as the "founding father" of the [hurufiyya movement](/source/hurufiyya_movement) (alphabetical art movement or Letrism movement).Bocco, R., Bozarslan, H. and Sluglett, P., ''Writing The Modern History Of Iraq: Historiographical And Political Challenges,'' World Scientific, 2012, p. 478 However, other scholars have suggested that the movement began somewhat earlier with the work of the Iraqi-American artist, [Madiha Omar](/source/Madiha_Omar) who exhibited huryifiyya artwork in 1949 in Washington.Treichl, C., ''Art and Language: Explorations in (Post) Modern Thought and Visual Culture,'' Kassel University Press, 2017 pp 115-119 Whether he was the movement's founder, or simply helped to popularise the hurufiyya genre, there can be little doubt that he was a leading light in Iraq's modern art movement. He defined his use of Arabic script in the context of rediscovering his own heritage, amid his studies of European art. He wanted to cling onto his own values and traditions as a means of avoiding being overtaken by experiences outside his own heritage. He wrote that there was nothing more sacred that the Arabic alphabet,Amirsadeghi, H., Mikdadi, S. and Shabout, N.M., ''New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,'' Thames & Hudson, 2009, p. 32 saying that his art was "a form of prayer." Hamoudi actively contributed to Iraqi arts culture through his membership of various art groups and societies in Iraq, and by organising exhibitions for up-coming artists, at a time when Iraq had no public galleries. In 1952, he organised an exhibition, entitled ''L'Ensemble "A"'' at the Institut Endoplastique in Paris.Miller, D., Lemoine, S. and Mosquera, G., ''Carmen Herrera: Lines of Sight,'' Yale University Press, 2016, p. 201 In 1971, he became a founding member of the [One Dimension Group](/source/One_Dimension_Group), started by his friend and colleague, artist and intellectual, [Shakir Hassan Al Said](/source/Shakir_Hassan_Al_Said).Treichl, C., ''Art and Language: Explorations in (Post) Modern Thought and Visual Culture,'' Kassel University Press, 2017, p. 117 This group sought to use art as a means of developing a sense of national identity. Jamil defined his use of Arabic script as a rediscovery of Iraqi heritage, within the confines of European abstract art.Amirsadeghi, H., Mikdadi, S., Shabout, N.N., ''New Vision: Arab Contemporary Art in the 21st Century,'' Thames & Hudson, 2009, p. 32 Hamoudi and the art groups in which he was involved were largely responsible for bridging the gap between modernity and heritage, and establishing Iraqi modern art.Dabrowska, K. and Hann, G., ''Iraq: The Ancient Sites and Iraqi Kurdistan,'' Bradt Travel Guides, 2015, p. 30 In 1973 he was appointed as Director of Fine Arts at the Ministry of Culture.{{Cite book| publisher = Oxford University Press| last = Kember| first = Pamela| title = Benezit Dictionary of Asian Artists|date = 2013}} ==Work== Hamoudi's early works reveal the influence of [Cubism](/source/cubist) movement and later he identified himself with the [surrealist](/source/surrealist) movement. In time, however, he distanced himself from Surrealists, claiming: {{blockquote| "A dark, saturnine atmosphere emanated from [their canvases] the effect of which was to arouse a feeling of despair in human beings." }} Ultimately, he developed his own style; one that referenced his Iraqi heritage, but also used modern techniques. His paintings are brightly colored and make use of geometric shapes like circles, triangles and arches, often in repeating patterns, a reference to [Arabesque](/source/Arabesque).Massignon, L., ''Opera minora: Islam, Culture et Société Islamiques,'' Dar-el-Maaref Liban, 1963,p. 231 For sculpture he frequently used plaster, stone, wood, metal, copper, glass, marble, Plexiglas and ceramics. ===Publications=== * ''Peintures, Sculptures, Dessins de Jamil HAMOUDI un artiste de Bagdad'', Paris, Librairie Voyelle, 1950 ===Select list of paintings and drawings=== * ''Sheytan,'' (The Devil), 1942, gouache on paper, 50 X 35 cm * ''Composition Absraite,'' 1950, India ink and watercolor, 32 X 24 cm) * ''Huryfieh ,'' 1982, ink on paper, 70 X 100 cm * ''Surat Abasa,'' 1982, pen on paper, 69 X 69 cm * ''Ezkor Rabbak Eza Nasayt,'' (If Ever Forgetful Mention Allah), 1985 oil on canvas, 87 X 129 cm (now in the collection of the Barjeel Foundation)Barjeel Foundation, [http://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/collection/if-ever-forgetful-mention-allah/ Online:] * ''A Trip to Baghdad,'' 1996, oil on canvas, 69.5 X 69.5 cm ==See also== * [Islamic art](/source/Islamic_art) * [Islamic calligraphy](/source/Islamic_calligraphy) * [List of Iraqi artists](/source/List_of_Iraqi_artists) ==External links== * [http://artiraq.org/maia/items/browse?collection=110 Jamil Hamoudia at Art Iraq] - digital resource maintained by Iraqi artists which includes reproductions of works lost or damaged during the 2003 invasion, and not accessible via any other reliable public source ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamoudi, Jamil}} Category:1924 births Category:2003 deaths Category:École des Beaux-Arts alumni Category:Académie Julian alumni Category:École du Louvre alumni Category:20th-century Iraqi painters Category:Iraqi male painters Category:20th-century calligraphers Category:20th-century sculptors Category:Iraqi abstract sculptors Category:Artist authors Category:Artists from Baghdad Category:Iraqi calligraphers Category:20th-century Iraqi sculptors Category:Iraqi male sculptors Category:20th-century Iraqi male artists Category:Iraqi expatriates in France --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jamil Hamoudi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamil_Hamoudi) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamil_Hamoudi?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.