Wijdan Al-Hashemi is an art historian, painter, art curator and diplomat.  Following her undergraduate studies in history at Beirut College for Women, in 1961, she gained a PhD in the history of Islamic art from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, 1993.  Her art training began in the late 1950’s under Muhana Durra, the leading precursor of the modern art movement in Jordan.

Describing the essential qualities of Islamic art, Wijdan has written, ‘Islamic art focuses on the spiritual representation of objects and beings, not on their material qualities. Neglecting the exact imitation of nature, the Islamic artists chose a two-dimensional stylization to represent their visions.  The artist’s quest was for the eternal representation of the spirit.’ Given the supreme importance of the word of God as set down in the Qur’an and its transmission throughout the Islamic world, the traditional emphasis upon the primacy of the written word served to elevate Arabic calligraphy into the pre-eminent form of artistic expression, a level it never attained in the western tradition.  Whilst the zenith of the Islamic calligraphic tradition was perhaps reached in the Fourteenth Century, there are still many noted exponents of the traditional forms today. However, interactions with western developments also helped stimulate stylistic innovations, and Wijdan’s artistic practice is situated at the forefront edge of the modern calligraphic styles in the visual arts that incorporate contemporary ideas and western media.

Wijdan has written, edited and contributed to a number of publications on traditional and contemporary art from the Islamic world.  She is the founder of the Royal Society of Fine Arts (1979) and the National Gallery of Fine Arts, (1980) in Jordan, as well as the founder and dean of the faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan (2001-2005).  Since October 2006, she has been the Jordanian Ambassador to Italy and currently lives and works in Rome.