Woman with a Branch of Dates

Faiq Hassan was among the pioneering artists in Iraq who obtained formal art education and was awarded a government scholarship to pursue studies in Paris. In 1938, he assumed the directorship of the recently established Ma’had al-Funun al-Jamila fi Baghdad (Institute of Fine Arts in Baghdad), a role he held until 1962.

Hassan belonged to the cohort of 'al-Ruwwad' (the Pioneers), a group of painters that integrated elements of everyday Iraqi life into their artwork and defied conventional studio methods. He followed the artistic principle of istilham al-turath, which focused on taking inspiration from heritage. This principle was developed by Jama'at Baghdad lil-Fann al-Hadith (Baghdad Group for Modern Art), which was founded in 1951.

A Woman with a Branch of Dates shows an Iraqi woman wearing a black traditional garment and holding a basket of dates , before an abstract, flattened village background. Hassan preferred to depict everyday life in rural areas. He merged the artistic traditions of ancient Mesopotamia with modernism to cultivate an awareness of Iraqi national identity.