Naim Ismail

NAIM ISMAIL, (Antioch, 1930 - 1979).
"In the corro".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower left corner.
With labels on the back.
Measurements: 49 x 51 cm, 62 x 64 cm (frame).

From a very young age, Naim showed a natural inclination for drawing and painting. His formal studies began in Istanbul between 1949 and 1953, a city that by then was already a melting pot of modern and Islamic artistic currents. He then continued his training in Rome, which allowed him to come into direct contact with the European avant-garde of the time, developing his own artistic vision, halfway between tradition and innovation.

Returning to Syria in the mid-1950s, he settled in Damascus, where he began working as an art director for publications linked to the army. For more than a decade (1958-1970), he devoted himself to this editorial work, while in parallel developing his plastic language: a painting of a symbolic and abstract character that sought not only to please visually, but also to convey profound messages about identity, history and social justice.

In the early 1970s, the Ministry of Culture appointed him Director of Fine Arts in Syria. In this position, which he held until his death in 1979, Naim Ismail played a key role in promoting modern art in the country, boosting national artistic production and the recognition of Syrian artists within and beyond its borders.

Naim Ismail's work is characterized by an aesthetic deeply rooted in Islamic visual heritage, with influences from Byzantine art, symbolism and traditional geometric forms. Throughout his career, he addressed themes such as resistance, exile, hope and rebirth. Works such as Al Fidaiyoun ("The Freedom Fighters", 1969) and Dove of Peace (1968) are representative of his political commitment, especially in relation to the Palestinian cause and the suffering of Arab peoples after the wars and occupations of the 20th century.

Beyond his canvases, Naim also left his mark on public space. He designed the facade of the trade union building in Damascus and a decorative part of the Euphrates Dam in Tabqa, combining monumental art with messages of unity and progress. His work not only beautified, but visually narrated the collective history of his people.

Despite his untimely death in 1979, at the age of 49, Naim Ismail's legacy has endured as one of the cornerstones of modern Syrian art. His works can be found today in public and private collections, and his figure is remembered as that of a creator committed to his time, who knew how to translate the complexities of the Arab world into a powerful, reflective and profoundly human visual language.