Mahmoud Hammad

Syrian painter, photographer, sculptor and medallion designer. He participated in the founding of the Syrian Art Society in 1948 A.D. He traveled a mission to study in Rome from 1953 until 1957 A.D. and after he returned, he participated in establishing the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus and participated in writing its curricula, and then took over its deanship from 1970 to 1980 Mahmoud Y. at the end of 1939 displayed his group of paintings in one of the halls of the Institute of Law in Damascus - Mahmoud Hammad's style is characterized by sobriety in the construction of the artistic work and the poetic color, as he was able, with his inimitable talent and his distinguished color sense, to tighten the weight of the formal and color elements with the skill of the goldsmith and the creativity of the musician. He knew and perfected academic traditions, and was familiar with the methods of modern and contemporary art, hence his uniqueness in the Syrian and Arab surroundings, and his distinction in the individual and group exhibitions in which he participated. Mahmoud Hammad's production went through four stages: The first phase extends between 1923 and 1953, and was dominated by Impressionist Realism - As for the second stage, it extends from 1953 to 1957, and it is a stage in Italy - As for the third stage, it is between the years 1958 and 1963, which is the period he spent in Daraa and it is considered an important stage in his artistic experience because he began to search for his privacy after his academic studies. - As for the fourth stage, it is between the years 1964 and 1988, which is the stage in which Mahmoud Hammad completed the elements of the style that he committed to in his final destination, namely the Arabic writing and its transformations in painting so that the basic element in construction and expression constitutes rhythm, performance and a color bell. And with calling this stage "abstract" Mahmoud Hammad won the first prize in the «Intergraphic» exhibition in Germany in 1976, and the first prize in the competition of the Supreme Council of Arts and Literature in Syria in 1977. He also received the Order of the Italian Republic with the degree of «Knight» Commendatore in 1975, and after his death the state awarded him the Order of Syrian Merit of the class The first was in 1989. He had worked as an expert in the Department of Education and Arts in the Syrian Arab Encyclopedia from its inception in 1981 until his death.