BAGHDAD — Verdant landscapes, stylized portraits of peasant women, curved sculptures —
an exhibition in
Baghdad is allowing art aficionados to rediscover the pioneers
of contemporary Iraqi art.
اضافة اعلان
Around 100 items
are on display in the capital, returned and restored nearly two decades after
they were looted.
Many of the
works, including pieces by renowned artists Jawad Selim and Fayiq Hassan,
disappeared in 2003 when museums and other institutions were pillaged in the
chaos that followed the
US-led invasion to topple dictator Saddam Hussein.
Thousands of
pieces were stolen, and organized criminal networks often sold them outside
Iraq.
Tracked down in
Switzerland, the US, Qatar and neighboring Jordan, sculptures and paintings
dating between the 1940s and 1960s have been on display since late March at the
Ministry of Culture, in a vast room that used to serve as a restaurant.
“These works are
part of the history of contemporary art in Iraq,” ministry official Fakher
Mohamed said.
Artistic
renaissance
Pictures and sculptures were in 2003 spirited away from the Saddam Arts
Centre, one of Baghdad’s most prestigious cultural venues at the time.
While he crushed
all political dissent, Saddam cultivated the image of a patron of the arts. The
invasion and years of violence that followed ended a flourishing arts scene,
particularly in Baghdad.
A wooden sculpture of a gazelle with undulating curves is on display at Iraq’s Ministry of Culture in Baghdad on April 6, 2022.
Now, relative
stability has led to a fledgling artistic renaissance, including book fairs and
concerts, of which the exhibition organized by the ministry is an example.
It helps recall
a golden age when Baghdad was considered one of the Arab world’s cultural
capitals.
Among canvases
of realist, surrealist or expressionist inspiration, a picturesque scene in
shimmering colors shows a boat sailing in front of several “mudhif”, the
traditional reed dwellings found in Iraq’s southern marshes.
Other paintings,
in dark colors, depict terrified residents surrounded by corpses, fleeing a
burning village.
Elsewhere, a
woman is shown prostrate in a scene of destruction, kneeling in front of an arm
protruding from stones.
There is also a
wooden sculpture of a gazelle with undulating curves, and the “maternal statue”
— a work by Jawad Selim that represents a woman with a slender neck and raised
arms.
The latter,
worth hundreds of millions of dollars, was rediscovered in a Baghdad district
known for its antiques and second-hand goods shops. It was in the possession of
a dealer unaware of its true value, according to sculptor Taha Wahib, who
bought it for just $200.
‘Priceless works’
Looters in some cases had taken pictures out of their frames, sometimes
with cutters, to steal them more easily.
“Some pieces
were damaged during the events of 2003 — or they were stored in poor conditions
for many years,” Mohamed, the culture ministry official, told AFP.
But “they were
restored in record time”, he said.
Other works are
being held back for now, with some waiting to be restored – but they will be
exhibited once more, Mohamed pledged.
He wants to open
more exhibition rooms to show the entire collection of recovered items.
“Museums must be
open to the public – these works shouldn’t remain imprisoned in warehouses,” he
said.
The 7,000 items
stolen in 2003 included “priceless works”, and about 2,300 have been returned
to Iraq, according to exhibition curator Lamiaa Al-Jawari.
In 2004, she
joined a committee of artists committed to retrieving the many stolen national
treasures.
“Some have been
recovered through official channels” including the Swiss embassy, she said, but
individuals also helped.
Authorities
coordinate with Interpol and the last restitutions took place in 2021.
The selection on
display will be changed from time to time, “to show visitors all this artistic
heritage”, Jawari said.
Ali Al-Najar, an
82-year-old artist who has lived in Sweden the past 20 years, has been on
holiday in his homeland.
He welcomed the
exhibition.
“The pioneers
are those who initiated Iraqi art. If we forget them, we lose our foundations”
as a society, Najar said.
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