The first Arab countries in the Middle East to adopt Western art were

Lebanon and Egypt. Early currents of Westernization permeated Lebanon

at the hands of the European missionaries, who opened convents and
missionary schools in the mountains and introduced the printing press.
The missionaries in Lebanon were the ones to establish, in the 18th
century, the basis for a cultural, social and political life centred on
Christianity, which led to an intellectual and artistic awakening. Through
the Church, Gothic style became popular in 18th century Lebanon,
eventually giving birth to a local Gothic school in religious painting.

In Egypt, the invasion by Napoleon's armies in 1798 abruptly subjected the

nation to European control, making it the first Arab country in the 19th
century to be exposed to Western art on a large scale. It was the first time
since the Crusades that a Western power invaded an Arab country not
only with its military forces but also with its intellectuals, artists, historians
and writers.

Easel painting is a fairly recent phenomenon in Arab art. As the aesthetic

and creative fibre of traditional Islamic art weakened in the 19th century,
Arab culture yielded increasingly to Western art forms and styles, which
had pervaded the Arab world due to the West's political, economic,
scientific and military superiority and dominance.

Improved means of communication between Europe and the Arab

countries exposed the Arab world to Western influences at an ever-
growing rate and eventually to the expansion of Western colonialism and
the dissemination of Western art and culture. From the end of the 19th
century, an artistic rebirth occurred in North Africa and the Middle East
that eventually led to a radical change in aesthetics and the unfolding of a
new artistic evolution in the field of visual arts.
Most Arab countries gained their independence from British and French
colonial rule between the end of World War II and the mid 1950s.
Although the political, economic and social environments since the 19th
century have caused the decline of traditional arts in the Arab world, they
simultaneously have paved the way for the development of modern art
movements in painting that encompassed Western aesthetics yet
succeeded in creating distinctive styles in sculpture and painting, by
drawing on their ancient traditions and linking them to international
artistic trends. By the middle of the 20th century, modern Arab painting
had developed, based on Western aesthetics and norms; and by the end
of the 20th century all Arab countries had extended modern art
movements that reflected their cultural and artistic growth through art
institutions, artistic activities, the increasing number of artists and the new
art tendencies that interacted with other art movements in various parts
of the world.

Between Legend and Reality: Modern Art from the Arab

World
By Wijdan Ali | Dec 2003

https://universes.art/en/nafas/articles/2003/modern-art-from-the-arab-world/

Colonial Period (1900–1950s)

During the period of French rule over Syria and
Lebanon, French language and culture dominated the
educational system and cultural environment of Beirut,
yet artists returning from their studies abroad were
determined to uphold their national identity and
individual styles. Unlike earlier generations, their work
was not imitative (32.45.5). In Lebanon, a larger
segment of society was eager to adopt Western
lifestyles and showed less resistance to nude
paintings, which were displayed in exhibitions in the
early 1930s (Omar Onsi, Women at an Exhibition).
Landscape became the national genre. A third
generation of Lebanese artists experimented
with Cubism, Dadaism, Fauvism, Surrealism, and
abstraction. They laid the foundation for Lebanese art,
most notably in abstraction, which continued to be the
prevalent style until the end of the twentieth century.

The first group of Iraqi artists to study art in Europe

adhered to academic styles. Landscape, still life, and
naturalistic representation were dominant features.
Later referred to as the Pioneers, established as a
group in 1950, their unique contribution was in their
commitment to art education and to nurturing public
awareness of the arts; they were members of an all-
Iraqi faculty at the Institute of Fine Arts and the only
link to Western art discourse until World War II, when
several Polish artists arrived in Baghdad with the
Allied forces. They introduced an Expressionist mode
that captured the imagination of Iraqi artists, who
eagerly adopted this new free style more suited to
expressing an increasingly complex reality. The rising
tide of nationalism, economic stagnation, and the daily
human struggle in such conditions were manifest in an
Expressionist Realist art trend. Cubism was also a
significant Iraqi art movement during this period, with
a focus on village scenes, a rapidly disappearing rural
life, and cityscapes

Postcolonial Period (1950–70)

After independence, artists in Iraq, Jordan, and Syria
experimented with a variety of techniques and styles
irrespective of the current international trends. Their
quest for a national consciousness in art was evident
in their choice of subject matter, which ranged from
lyrical works with an emphasis on technique and form
(Louay Kayyali, Siesta), to figurative works with
symbolism adopted by many Palestinian artists (Ismail
Shammout, The Exodus) and later made popular in poster
art. Lyrical abstraction and indigenous styles that gave
the Arabic letter a new visual aesthetic developed in
sculpture, graphic art, ceramics, and painting
Islam’s discouragement of the depiction of human
figures in art was intended to prevent idolatry and
was restricted to religious images. This did not inhibit
painting, although it may have had an influence on the
slow development of sculpture in the Arabian
Peninsula, which is also attributed to the fact that
naturalistic figuration had not been part of the local
artistic traditions since the pre-Islamic period. In the
rest of the region, public and private sculpture was
typically executed in a formal abstract style
Modern Art in West Asia: Colonial to Post-colonial

Mikdadi, Salwa. “Modern Art in West Asia: Colonial to Post-

colonial.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wacp/hd_wacp.htm
(October 2004)
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/wacp/hd_wacp.htm

The end of the Ottoman empire unleashed a

renaissance in literature and the arts.
By World War I, artists had turned to Western art as a
representative form of modern expression. As a result,
a new separation emerged between traditional art in
all its forms and what came to be known as the fine
art of easel painting. Traditional arts such as painting
on glass and leather, woodwork, glassmaking,
metalwork, textiles, and wall frescoes were
considered naive and repetitive, relying less on
intellect and more on archaic traditions. Painting on
glass is one example of a dying tradition that ended
with the passing of the last Syrian painter in this genre
(Abou Subhi al-Tinawi, Muhammad ‘Ali fi al-Sham).
By mid-century, many of the countries in western Asia
that were under European dominance gained their
independence. These new nations claimed a renewed
political as well as cultural identity.
Reminiscent of Islamic civilization’s success in
creating a new culture that embraced and synthesized
the diverse cultural characteristics of the societies it
conquered, modern artists continued to select,
reshape, and explore new ways to create
contemporary art.
While manuscript and book arts such as illumination,
miniatures, and bookbinding declined, Arabic writing
known as khat (calligraphy) continued to flourish.
Since Islam does not favor human-based imagery and
limits its use to secular buildings and illuminated
manuscripts, Arabic calligraphy continued to be used
as the single most prominent element in religious
architecture. Because Arabic is the revered language
of the Qur’an, Arabic calligraphy, long considered a
sacred art, was regarded as the visible embodiment of
the divine word. Among the most popular forms of
calligraphy were quotations from Qur’anic verses, the
Traditions of the Prophet, and Arabic proverbs, as well
as representations of God’s attributes. The elasticity
of Arabic writing permitted an infinite number of
forms, allowing artists to explore traditional Islamic
calligraphy by using contemporary styles and
techniques. These modern calligraphers followed any
one of the myriad of classical styles, and at the same
time introduced new interpretations in composition
and media (Hashim al-Khattat, Untitled). Aside from
their aesthetic value, Arabic letters are imbued with
meaning and symbolism; their abstracted forms gave
Arab artists a means of asserting their heritage within
prevailing Western artistic treWith its rich symbolism
and imagery, Arabic poetry has captivated generations
of Arabs since the pre-Islamic era. Similar to classical
calligraphy, Arabic poetry traditionally has been
subject to rigid rules. However, in the second half of
the twentieth century, the boundaries of poetry gave
way to a freer verse. Today, poetry remains a potent
and ever-popular form of expression.
Literature, particularly poetry, has had a long and
productive relationship with the arts of the twentieth
century. Arab artists inspired by poetry have produced
diverse works—from fiber art to engraving—devoted to
classical and popular Arabic poetry (Rafa
Nasiri, Homage to al-Mutanabi). Many modern art critics
have been poets and authors who formed close
relationships with artists. Collaborations between
artists and poets have produced books in which the
fusion of image and word manifests an aesthetic
synergism that is not meant to be an illustration but
rather a transformation of two languages—the visual
and the written. Other artists inspired by modern
poetry have underscored its visual aesthetic while
retaining its literary value (Etel Adnan, Allah).
Mikdadi, Salwa. “West Asia: Between Tradition and
Modernity.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/trmd/hd_trmd.htm
(October 2004)

West Asia: Between Tradition and Modernity

At the turn of the 21st century, the powerful influence of the West tended to
give such contacts a more one-sided directionality, but Arab litterateurs were
constantly striving to find ways of combining the generic models and critical
approaches of the West with more indigenous sources of inspiration drawn
from their own literary heritage.
The nature of “the modern” in the context of Arabic literary history involves twin
processes: first, renewed contacts with the Western world, something that was
considerably accelerated by European imperial incursions during the 19th century, and,
second, a renewed interest in the classical heritage of the Arabic language and Islam.
Particularly in analyzing the earlier stages in the process known as al-
nahḍah (“renaissance”), Western historians have for a long time placed much more
emphasis on the first of these factors. It is certainly true that the 19th century witnessed
a vigorous translation movement that introduced to the readership of Arabic literature
examples of genres such as the novel, the short story, and the drama. All these genres
were subsequently produced within the literary milieu of Arabic, although the
chronology and pace of that process varied widely in different regions. However, as Arab
literary historians endeavoured to trace the development of a modern literary tradition
in different regions and as creative writers themselves strove to find indigenous sources
of inspiration and modes of expression, a perceived need to incorporate the second
category mentioned above—that of the linkage between the classical heritage of the Arab
past and the creativity of the present—became more pressing and led in many regions to
a reexamination of the balance between these two forces.

“The register of the Arabs” (dīwān al-ʿArab) is the age-old phrase whereby
Arabs have acknowledged the status and value that poetry has always retained
within their cultural heritage. From the very earliest stages in the Arabic
literary tradition, poetry has reflected the deepest sense of Arab self-identity,
of communal history, and of aspirations for the future. Within this tradition
the role of the poet has been of major significance. The linkage between public
life and the composition of ringing odes has remained a direct one from the
pre-Islamic era—when the poet was a major verbal weapon, someone whose
verses could be invoked to praise the heroes of his own tribe and to pour scorn
on those of their enemies—through the premodern period—when poetic
eulogies not only extolled the ruler who patronized the poet but reflected a
pride in the achievements and extent of the Islamic dominions—to the modern
period—in which the poet has felt called upon to either reflect or oppose the
prevailing political mood. In times of crisis it has always been, and still
remains, the poet’s voice that is first raised to reflect the tragedies, the anger,
the fears, and the determination of the Arab people.

Arabic literature
Roger m.a Allen Nov. 12, 2023
https://www.britannica.com/art/Arabic-literature

Historian Albert Hourani set the date of 1798 when Napoleon invaded Egypt as the time that
initiated the onset of the modern period for the Arab Middle East,1 what is usually referred to
as the Nahda (Renaissance)

Modern Art in the Arab World: Primary Documents – Art

and Arab Life, a Questionnaire

Anneka Lenssen, Sarah Lookofsky, Sarah

Rogers and Nada Shabout

July 18, 2018

https://post.moma.org/art-and-arab-life-a-questionnaire/
Modern Arab societies have gone through important
periods of development and growth, to which numerous
factors have contributed—and art has been one of these
driving, influential factors. What role has art played in the
field of your specialty (painting, music, theater, cinema,
etc.) in terms of its impact on Arab society, and in terms
of the impact of Arab society on it?

Art, as one of the elements of culture and guidance, is

rarely linked to our current reality. It fumbles about in the
chaos of different foreign artistic currents. It is not
inspired, whether in small or large part, by personal or
national feelings, with the exception of certain
phenomena. Most of this art was transferred or copied
from foreign arts.

And we can see that art in Lebanon—which we might

claim to be more developed than the other Arab countries
due to its antiquity as well as for other reasons—is for the
most part a copy, an imitation, and a repetition of foreign
arts. Rarely does it express its reality, or derive from its
surroundings and history or from personal feelings.

As for the state of art in the rest of the Arab countries, it

is no better off. Most of this art is based on copying and
imitating art movements established in Europe, without
making any attempt to deny this or to draw inspiration
from the present realities and exigencies of Arab
countries. At the same time, the mission of art, as we
know, is the truthful expression of the feelings and reality
of the nation.
Mr. Moustafa Farroukh (Lebanon)

It is well known that art is considered the truthful mirror

of every people. Indeed, it seeks inspiration from images
of its past and its heritage, and it expresses its present
and portrays its desires and hopes for the future. As such,
art is a symbol of the spirit of that people. It echoes their
responses to their environment and times, and in doing so
presents a vibrant picture of life over time. If we search in
the light of this truth for the relationship between our
artistic production and our current reality, we will not find
it to be a closely linked relationship. This is because, if we
mention certain artistic works that attempt to approach
this reality, and its stamping by national traits, we cannot
forget that our present artistic production is represented
by the theory of “art is for art’s sake,” where art exists in
its ivory tower, far from the environment and the people;
and literary ideas remain secondary to formal
considerations, which center artistic value around the
creation of a harmonious composition of volumes, lines,
and colors.
Even though this theory enjoys a great deal of support
from international artistic circles, we should nevertheless
take into account our specific circumstances, as a people
who are building for history, and ensure that we improve
the alignment of the pillars onto which our solid edifice
will be raised, so that our works present a true picture of
what we feel and experience. Art is one of the most
prominent of the intellectual aspects that accompany the
renaissances of nations. The true artist is the person who
lives in his environment, searching and inquiring in order
to convey the feelings and impressions that influence him.
Art in our region suffers from the foreign influences that
nearly divert it from its ideal direction and separate it
from our current realities. In many cases, our production
comes as if it were another image from those schools
whose artistic principles we have borrowed or taken.
Drawing from others is necessary to develop our artistic
culture, yet there is a major difference between
consciously drawing from another’s work and adopting his
ideas to the point of becoming lost in his personality,
estranged from our context and our environment.
Here, in order to successfully navigate this critical stage
of our artistic life, we should work to liberate ourselves
from all that obstructs our proper nationalist direction, in
order to be rid of all foreign influence on our artistic
thinking and to establish sound foundations for the
independence of our artistic personality. We must search
for this personality in our Eastern, Lebanese surroundings,
which are full of vibrant, exciting light, as well as in our
glorious national heritage and in the subjects that have
value for us. We should remember that these surroundings
have already enchanted Western artists and served as a
source of innovation and inspiration for them. What would
be more appropriate for us, as we revive these
surroundings, than to draw from them the impetus for an
elevated artistic production, consistent with our
environmental circumstances—which we sense more fully
than anyone else. Let us adopt them as a basis on which
we plant the foundations of our artistic renaissance, that
very renaissance we are working to bring about. And let us
move forward by its light with strength, determination, and
faith.
Mr. Rachid Wehbe (Lebanon)

Art and society simultaneously influence and are

influenced by each other. The true artist takes reality as
his raw material. He does not convey this reality literally,
but rather revives it through his whole living being,
“viewing it from within” as he creates it anew as a more
vibrant reality. Society is also impacted by art and
responds to its inspiration. For this reason, the content of
art is the content of life.

As for the artists who, adhering to pure formalism,

imagine that pedantically creating empty forms is art, or
the artists who imitate external reality or depict it in an
anecdotal manner, considering art to be a means of
comprehension and not an actual modality of knowledge,
or who create art for the purpose of propaganda in any of
its forms—those artists represent superficiality and
stagnation in art, for they are only grazing the surface of
life.

We note that every phase of society’s development is also

a phase of the development of art and all sorts of ways of
thinking. We find in Egyptian society’s phases of struggle—
in the middle of this century, for example, for the cause of
independence—that modern Egyptian representational art
has been liberated from the influence of Western art and
has been guided to its correct path: connected with its
ancient, inherited past, and with the well of the art of the
people and their traditions, adopting the principles of the
artistic origins of the ancient East without imitating them,
in contrast to the artistic origins of the West, which
observe the rules of perspective painting, or the
personification through the Modèle or Modulation. Those
original principles of the West aimed to depict objects as
seen by the eye without regard for their truth, and
constitute a certain submission to the false appearance of
nature—the principle that the contemporary West rejected
when it abandoned easel painting for wall painting.
Mr. Hamed Abdalla (Egypt)

Thus, it is not possible to speak about the extent to which

Egyptian theater has influenced or been influenced by
nationalist thought. However, we can ask whether
Egyptian theater has moved in pace with nationalist
thought, or lagged behind it.

The nationalist thought contemporaneous to the

establishment of Egyptian theater was itself what paved
the way for the revolution of 1919. It preached political
and social liberation. As for Egyptian theater, we
unfortunately have to affirm that it has always lagged
behind nationalist thought. In political terms, Egyptian
theater did not play the same role as that played by other
artistic and literary forms. Theater was never an
expression of the Egyptian revolution; rather, it was
surprised by it. Theater’s only role was to cry out in the
wake of the revolution. The theater was highly
insignificant on the battlefield, as the revolution’s events
were always greater than it.

Mr. Hamdy Ghaith (Egypt)

Many researchers differ in their views of the arts in

general, and of music in particular. Some say that art
leads to renaissances. Others assert that art follows
renaissances or, more clearly put, that art is a depiction of
these renaissances, and that true art gives us a true
picture. Since our views of this picture may differ, we may
think of it as a point of origin, one that influences and
guides society. Yet the meticulous researcher does not
overlook the fact that this so-called true picture is merely
a copy of the original, which is society. As such, art is but
a chronicler of history, not an instigator of renaissances. If
we accept this position, we find that Arab art has been
able to depict the renaissances of its peoples and, with its
limited or local capabilities, to give us a true picture of
their prevalent anxiety. Arab music was influenced by
Turkish music when the Turks had a say in the rule of our
country, and it was influenced by the Western music that
was present among us when we looked to the West and
moved toward it. However, Arab music did not become
completely devoted to the West, nor did it lose its identity
and its ancient civilization. Rather, this influence
embellished and enhanced Arab music, and moved it
toward becoming a global art.

However, many factors existed in Arab countries that led

to the decline of the arts, two of which are extremely
important and thus worthy of mention:

Most funders in these countries are not from these

countries.
These countries were struggling under the yoke of foreign
occupation.

These two factors caused feelings of inadequacy among

the Arab people and divided them into two groups, which
moved in opposite directions. The first looked to the West,
believed that Egypt was capable of rising to its level, and
demanded the highest degree of freedom possible. The
second was oriented toward the East, struggled to admit
its own inadequacy, and clung to the flimsy threads of its
Eastern identity—it called for conserving this identity by
imposing strict censorship.

Despite this there is significant evidence today that Arab

music is responding to and being influenced by the
renaissances of the people. However, I disagree with
those who say that Arab music is the creator and
inspiration behind this reawakening.

Mr. Khalil al-Masry (Egypt)

The West came before the East in revolting against men of
religion—not religious teachings—who, without good
intentions, appointed themselves the protectors and
advocates of religion, after placing stumbling blocks on
the road to the progress of civilization for so long. The
impact of this was that the West made great strides in the
fields of science, discovery, and invention, which with the
East has been unable to keep pace. The West thus
extended its authority over the East and launched a siege
to prevent it from progressing, and even to block it from
freedom. This became clearer than ever in art in general
and particularly in the plastic arts, which are the topic of
this discussion.

If art is the equal of science in the field of human

progress, then we attempt to understand the truth of our
external reality through science and to probe the depths
of our internal reality through art. The two are linked in a
way that reveals the extent of the importance of art to
human life and the extent of its influence in the field of
human progress.

The East, led by Egypt, has attempted to awaken from its

ignorance and to cast off the effects of the political
occupation and the foreign monopoly on Eastern thought
and taste. By the East, I mean the Arab East. The effect of
this revolution against this occupation and monopoly
emerged in the field of plastic arts. And if it was right for
us to keep pace with the West’s scientific progress and to
take from the West its latest inventions, we do not have
the least right to keep pace with the West in terms of its
art, for art has a nation from which it must spring forth.
And it has traditions, customs, and norms associated with
a group of people who define its form and subject, and
even the direction of its development. Those who attempt
this not only carry within themselves the tools of their
own destruction and the obliteration of their identity, they
also help the West to directly or indirectly solidify its hold
on the East.

Currently in Egypt, there are those doing all they can to

embrace artistic trends to liberate Egyptian art from its
slavery to foreign art, and even from a return to ancient
Egyptian art—despite the fact that others claim the latter
would return originality to Egyptian art. Yet this is not in
accordance with the social environment, which defines
the general image of art, even if the geographical
environment is the same in both cases.

These modern trends have succeeded. In art, more or less,

those embracing them have achieved their objective
through their dedication to the principle upon which these
ideas are based and through their keenness to expose
themselves to modern global culture, which is necessary
for the contemporary artist to be successful in realizing
his mission. That he shares in abundance in addressing
subjects related to social life in Egypt, with a view
permeated by the logic of modern thought.

If the Egyptian public as a whole does not appreciate

works of modern art, it is because these works are not as
familiar to them as the thousand varieties of art presented
to them by foreign artists and by teaching professors who
took art from the institutes of Europe and circulated it, or
worked to circulate it, in our region.

Mr. Maher Ra’ef (Egypt)

Our reality suffers in its appearance, but not in its

essence, from the dominance of European character. Our
way of life has taken on affectation in order to fit with
European life. Local dress is on the verge of being swept
aside by European styles as we leave the countryside and
move to the cities. Moreover, there is a great
contradiction between our core equilibrium as Eastern
people and these almost completely false and affected
appearances. This is in terms of our reality. In terms of
art, the problem is different, for art in our region suffers
from Western domination in both its essence and its
external forms. In other words, the contradiction
mentioned above is nearly nonexistent, for art in our
region is in fact Western in its entirety. The reason for this
goes back to the fact that painters, and Iraqi painters in
particular, had their artistic beginnings and studies in
Europe and in the style of European schools, and as such
their views of things became that of a Western person. In
addition, there was a dark period that cut us off from our
heritage—whether ancient or Islamic civilizations—
following which Iraqi artists opened their eyes and saw
nothing but mature European art before them. As for our
civilizational heritage, it remained concealed until only
recently, when museums were established. As for local
art, it is extremely simple in impression, so much so that
is difficult to use it as any kind of basis. Another thing is
that the local art market is invaded by an artistic culture
with a European art affect, whether in in inquiry or in
outline. We have barely any access to authentic Eastern
art—such as Indian, Chinese, and Japanese art—despite
the fact that the West has also been influenced by it, and
despite its maturity and importance.

Today, we feel intense pain at this move away from local

reality and national character. Most of us attempt and
endeavor to establish an art that represents this reality,
that influences it and is influenced by it, and each of us
seeks to achieve it according to his specific point of view.
Some deal with line and composition, attempting through
them to claim something of the Assyrian and Sumerian
spirit, yet they remain European nevertheless. Yet these
artists try—always, they try.

Mr. Hafidh al-Droubi (Iraq)

For a long time, the Arab world has lagged behind the rest
of the world in scientific progress as well as in social and
political spheres. The inevitable result is a backwardness
that is reflected in our social reality and that has led to a
backwardness in thought, literature, and art.

The Arab world has been isolated from the rest of the
world and thus rarely influenced by the intellectual
currents that affect our times. The Baghdad school of
painting under Abbasid rule deserves mention, although it
ended with the Abbasid era. Al-Wasiti was one of the most
prominent painters of this period. Yet throughout the last
fifty years, the experience from which Iraq and the other
Arab countries have suffered due to their contact with the
civilized world—and to its innovations in the fields of
science, industry, and thought—has led them to “borrow”
from it. I doubt whether this assimilation of Western
intellectual and artistic currents is deep and true, as our
regressive reality is different from the natural, progressive
reality of the West. For example, the appearance of
Cubism in the Western world is justified, as it is an artistic
form that evolved from previous artistic forms. We can say
the same about the other artistic schools in the West. The
Cubist trends in our country, however, fail to represent a
genuine reality not only in terms of the type of production,
but also in terms of our present historical circumstances.
Owing to this, the artistic movement in Iraq has yet to
acquire distinguishing characteristics and a clear identity
in either form or content. The truth is that the artistic
movement in our country represents nothing but confusion
and turbulence resulting from the underdevelopment of
the Iraqi identity in terms of expressing its condition,
environment, and historical circumstances.

Mr. Ismaeil al-Sheikhly (Iraq)

The Arab arts have suffered through a long period of

decline, from painting to styles of buildings, from metal
engraving to textiles, and even popular traditions of dress
and song. In addition, a permanent religious opposition,
combined with the shallowness of the scientific culture,
and the lack of genuine, constructive attempts by Arab
governments to revive popular Arab heritage—all this has
led to the obliteration of what remained of a distinctive
artistic heritage.
Along with all these urgent ailments, European
imperialism arrived to spread distortion and poverty and
poisoned relations between the remaining religious sects
so as to politicize them. All this destroyed the last
remaining bastion of Arab art in the East, and it remains in
ruins.

If we wish to define a character for any Arab artistic

production, or if we wish to find a link between any such
production and our reality, we will fail. If a European critic
today were to view any painting by an Arab painter, he
would not find anything but a Turkish fez, the face of a
dome, an ancient minaret, a strangely designed water pipe
in a carnival of cafés, or a piece of embroidery from a
worn-out Shiraz carpet!

The modern concept of contemporary realist Arab art is

difficult to define, as the nonexistence of inherited artistic
features has, to a great extent, rendered our Arab artistic
production weak in terms of its identity. Indeed, the
contemporary art of each state in the world is based on
substantial inheritances. In India, we see in the paintings
of modern artists clear references to the ancient Indian
artistic heritage. The same is true of modern China, as
well as Japan. We see in the exhibitions of all the nations
an originality and differentiation that indicate that this
painting is Indian or that painting is Chinese or Finnish.
However, the painting created in the Arab East has no
identity, for its character is lost, its originality erased, and
it consists of a distorted, mixed-up imitation of the
European schools. We can thus assert, for all the
preceding reasons, that Arab artistic production has no
relationship at all with our reality or our renaissance.

In order to bless contemporary Arab taste with a truly

Arab art that interprets its reality and its social struggle
on all fronts, we must begin a new “renaissance” era—
meaning an era based on the rebirth of ancient Arab art,
grafted to current modern concepts, in a light rich in
distinctive color and inherited, authentic designs.

The reasons for the chaos to be found in the exhibitions

held in Cairo, Alexandria, Beirut, Damascus, Aleppo, and
Baghdad have become clear: There is no close
coordination between governments and painters,
sculptors, musicians, architects, and authors. Nor is there
even a sense that this collaboration is lacking.

Come with me: Stand next to me before an Arab painting,

and let us assume that its creator has called it an Arabic
name meaning “Awakening” or “Revolution” or “Protest.”
What would you find in this painting? You would not find
anything except a carnival of influences, firstly because
the artist has no personal style. You would not find any
colors from the East, nor would you find that authentic
effort to highlight originality in the orientation of the
design and the subject as a whole. Perhaps the reason for
this goes back to the fact that Arab history is not studied,
on one hand, and on the other to the dearth of
understanding of common artistic schools. Thus, painters,
sculptors, musicians, and architects are unable to
establish a distinctive character by which they might
define their place in the ranks of universal art.
The development of the artistic understanding of a
contemporary people is not incompatible with the
inherited ancient values that have a unique character. If
you were to take even the most contemporary of schools,
such as Surrealism, and if you as an artist fervently cling
to your Arab nationalism, you would be able to render an
original expression from your lines. And even if you were
an advocate of the abstract or the nonobjective schools,
you would be able to maintain a distinctive Arab
character. This matter is inevitable for modern architects
who insist on taking from the style of Le Corbusier!
Indeed, if Le Corbusier had been Eastern or Arab, he would
have given his school a distinctive character, while still
observing the latest requirements of the age, because
comprehending character requires it, and national pride as
well!

Our situation is disgraceful, our values cheap, and our

confidence nonexistent. As such, our distinctive Arab
identity is also absent. If we have been allowed to stand
among the many nations, it is only because we have not
yet died out completely.

Mr. Fateh al-Moudarres (Syria)

The question about art and its link to our Arab reality is
frequently repeated, and the people respond to it with a
host of different answers. The most important of these
answers is that the greatest purpose of art is to express
the features of life in its various aspects. In all Arab
countries, art remains far from this. If you were to see a
painting that represents a landscape or face or still life,
you would feel that there is a dense veil blocking you from
seeing the truth of these objects or separating you and the
life that pulses within each of them.

The important thing in painting is that people see in every

canvas something of themselves, something of their hopes
and dreams for life. Even more, the artist seeks to depict
through his painting the life that is lived by the people, as
well as the hopes that stir in his heart and in theirs. The
artist succeeds to the extent that he expresses these
dreams and makes them speak in his painting with a
power to affect the people, even influencing the simple
souls among them who have not had the good fortune to
enjoy a culture of art.

The function of art, whatever its color and whatever its

form, is to serve life. A beautiful painting—whether of a
river, or the breast or legs of a beautiful woman, or the
shoulders of a man of great stature, or his arm—is
beautiful because it suits its organic function, and its
concept is nothing but the elevated rendering of our many
needs. Indeed, it is the perpetual extension of these
needs, meaning that the concept distills the future of
these powerful, unrestrained needs and makes it evident,
just as the flower and the fruit condense the tree,
promulgate it, and extend its life into immortality.

Yet this eternal truth remains unfamiliar to artists in all

the Arab countries. For this reason, we cannot claim that
there is art in the Arab countries, and we will remain far
from it so long as artists are distantly removed from the
essence and secret of art, and even from its fundamental
components.

Mr. Munir Sulayman (Syria)

Arab art has a rich and diverse history, despite its being relatively under-appreciated on the
global scene. Much like its global counterparts, Arab art has reflected the cultural, political,
and social changes of the Arab World over the course of centuries. From calligraphy to
abstract expressionism, the development of modern Arab art has been shaped by a complex
mix of influences, including religion, politics, and global trends. In this entry, we explore
how Arab art continues to evolve into the contemporary era, inspiring and challenging
artists, collectors, and audiences alike.

A (VERY) BRIEF HISTORY OF ARAB ART

In order to understand the origins of Modern Art within the Arabian context, it is important
to understand the history of of Arab art in general. The history of Arab art as we know it
can be traced back to the Islamic Golden Age. The Golden Age (which spanned the seventh
to the thirteenth centuries) was when the Islamic Empire was at its peak, which gave way to
a flourishing of the arts. During this era, calligraphy was the dominant form of artistic
expression. This reflected the importance of the written word in Islamic culture, and the
spread of the religion. Calligraphers were therefore highly regarded as their works were
commissioned for religious texts. They were also commission for architectural and
decorative purposes.

COLONIALISM AND THE EMERGENCE OF MODERN

ARAB ART
Starting in the 19th and into the early 20th centuries, the colonial presence of European
powers in the region exerted its influence on many aspects of daily lives, commerce, and
eventually arts and culture. Modern art in a general sphere refers to art produced in the late
19th century and up until the 1970s.

Despite the emergence of modern Arab art during this period, it is important to keep in
mind that modern Arab art is more of a stylistic movement than a periodic one. The genres
that emerged during the modern era included Impressionism, Cubism, Surrealism, Pop Art
and Abstract Expressionism. As such, European artistic techniques and styles were
introduced and adopted by Arabs, leading to a fusion of traditional Arab art forms with
modern Western styles. This period also saw the rise of local art schools and institutions.
This aspect by which communities were built around modern Arab art played an important
role in promoting and shaping modern Arab art.

THE POST-COLONIAL EVOLUTION OF MODERN

ARAB ART
After World War II, a new generation of Arab artists emerged, one that was inspired by
global trends in modern art. It would be negligent to ignore the impact of nationalism and
the rise of independence movements in the Arab world following the withdrawal of
colonial forces after World War II. These two sociopolitical shifts had a profound impact
on the development of modern Arab art. This is reflected in how many artists sought to
express their cultural identity and assert their independence from colonial influence
through their work.

One of the most important movements in modern Arab art is the Baghdad School of Art,
which was established in the 1950s and 60s. This movement was characterized by a desire
to create a new and distinctly Arab form of modern art. This iconic style blended
traditional techniques with contemporary styles. Artists from the Baghdad School, such as
Dia Azzawi, were inspired by the region's rich cultural heritage. They sought to create a
unique visual language that reflected the cultural identity of the Arab world.

THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION AND THE BIRTH OF

CONTEMPORARY ARAB ART
In the late 20th century, Arab artists became increasingly engaged with the increasingly
globalized international art scene. Arab artists, galleries and institutions started
participating in exhibitions and biennials all around the world. This exposure helped to
raise the profile of Arab art and has led to a greater appreciation of its significance and
value whereby Arab art is featured in revered art fairs, exhibitions, and auctions. Today,
artists from the Arab world, its diaspora, and those inspired by the rich history and beauty
of the region continue to push the boundaries of contemporary art, using a wide range of
mediums and techniques to express their ideas and perspectives.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MODERN AND
CONTEMPORARY ART ON THE ARAB WORLD
The significance of modern Arab art lies in its ability to reflect the cultural, political, and
social complexities of the Arab world. Through their work, Arab artists have explored
themes of identity, nationalism, and cultural heritage. They have also explored social and
political issues such as war, oppression, and human rights. As a result, modern and
contemporary Arab art have become powerful tools for dialogue and understanding,
helping to bridge cultural divides and promote cross-cultural exchange.

Furthermore, modern Arab art has also played a significant role in the cultural economy of
the region. Arab artists have been able to build successful careers and make a significant
contribution to the cultural and economic development of the region thanks to the growth
of the number of art collectors, artists, galleries, and art fairs across the Middle East, West
Asia, and North Africa. Additionally, there is always credit that is due to the increasing
interest in Arab art among collectors and institutions around the world.

In conclusion, the history and significance of Arab art as we’ve known it in the modern and
contemporary movements is rooted in a rich and complex tapestry of stories. These stories
reflects the cultural, political, and social changes of the Arab world over the course of
centuries. From its roots in the Islamic Golden Age to its contemporary expression of the
cultural identity of the Arab world, even as it enters a highly-digitized era, modern Arab art
continues to inspire and challenge artists, collectors, and audiences alike. Whether
exploring the complexities of the political and social landscape or celebrating the cultural
heritage of the region, the modern Arab art movement in particular remains a powerful
expression of the rich cultural and artistic traditions of the Arab world and how viewpoints
and lives shifted post-colonization.

Mar 15, 2023

AN EXPLORATION OF MODERN ARAB ART

by Abdulah Al-Ghoul

https://shop.marsoum.co/blogs/journal/tagged/arab-art-
through-the-artist-s-lens
Reexploring Islamic Art: Modern and Contemporary Creation in the Arab World and Its Relation
to the Artistic Past

file:///C:/Users/hp/Downloads/
Reexploring_Islamic_Art_Modern_and_Cont.pdf

https://www.arabamerica.com/influential-contemporary-
arab-artists-throughout-history/

It is extremely difficult to decide when, how, and to what extent European art
began to affect the art of the traditional Muslim world. Ottoman architecture
was from the beginning affected by Western influences. In Mughal India,
European landscapes and Western spatial concerns influenced painting in the
18th century, and Persian painting has exhibited constant Western influence
since the 17th century. Thus, Islamic art began to be affected by European
traditions before Europe began (in the 18th and 19th centuries) its conquests
of most of the Muslim world. Because the Ottomans ruled North Africa (except
Morocco), Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, as well as the Balkans, much of the
Muslim world was first introduced to “modern” European art through
its adaptation in Istanbul or in other major Ottoman cities such as Smyrna
(now İzmir) or Alexandria.

During actual European occupation of Muslim territory, there was a conscious revival of
traditional decorative arts, but new techniques were often employed. This especially
occurred in India and Morocco, where the retail success of an art object depended less
on the local tradition than on the taste of the Europeans. What was romantic to a
European, therefore, was no longer part of the world of the newly enriched and
Europeanized Muslim. Much of the Europeanized architecture was drab and
pretentious. The only real artistic accomplishment of this period was in the preservation
and encouragement of the traditional techniques and designs of the decorative arts,
which often had to be maintained artificially through government subsidies.

During the period of occupation it was questioned whether alien techniques necessarily
brought with them new forms. This mood was clearly expressed in literature but less so
in the visual arts, because the quality of Muslim art had deteriorated so much in the
decades preceding European arrival that there was no longer a lively creative force to
maintain. As various schools based on the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris were formed,
however, the faculties and the students suffered from constant uncertainty as to whether
they should preserve an art that was mostly artisanal or revolutionize it altogether.

Islamic art under European influence and contemporary

trends

Oleg Grabar no date

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-arts/Islamic-art-
under-European-influence-and-contemporary-trends

Because of this, the Arab Spring has been marked as a sign of the new age: a global
stage where actions behind closed doors are no longer tolerated, and in which people
can make statements to an audience of millions. Nevertheless, the present language
barrier of Arabic, Ukrainian or Spanish being the primary spoken language of the
resistance meant that the overall message could still be lost in translation. These
language barriers have existed for as long as humans have been able to communicate
with each other, but the activists of the modern age have proven that there is one
language everyone can understand universally: art.

Art has always been a part of the collective cultural conscience, and its role in
promoting and condemning political activism or warfare has been around for just as
long. Art from July of 1789 depicts the awakening of the “Third Estate” during the
French Revolution, with similar symbolic images represented in newspapers or murals
since the middle of the 18th Century (Taws). While it has taken many forms, political
art is almost always driven by one of two mentalities: the questioning of authority and
a desire to call out corruption, or the desire to advocate on behalf of a political entity
often in the form of propaganda or idealization. While it’s impossible to categorize
every single instance of political art as either one or the other, it’s nevertheless
important to recognize the many ways in which art has been used to affect social
consciousness, especially when the notion of propaganda is brought up.
Art in the Arab Spring has been decidedly anti-authoritarian in nature,

Art is a visual representation of a culture, a snapshot of the times that can be

preserved and interpreted long after the point in time has passed and even the
language has been forgotten. For centuries, artists have used art as a method of
communicating with the masses, and have used it to convey a large variety of
emotions, from the majesty and awe in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to the swagger
and bombast of a Bing Crosby performance. With its ubiquity in our daily lives, it’s
easy to forget that art can be an important tool, both for self-identity and unity,
especially in a time where communication across continents is instantaneous.

For the people of the Arab world, art has become more than a simple distraction or
diversion, and it has come far from the oppressive ways it was used to portray the
region’s cadre of dictators and tyrants. Art is a universally translatable rallying cry.
Murals, songs, collages, paintings and sculptures have all been created in response to
the most tumultuous three years in recent Arab history, and all are apart of a larger
whole.

ART IS RESISTANCE: THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST IN THE

ARAB SPRING AND OTHER UPRISINGS
By: Jacob Sarabia no date
https://sites.stedwards.edu/pangaea/art-is-resistance-
the-role-of-the-artist-in-the-arab-spring-and-other-
uprisings/