Fatima El-Hajj (born in 1953) is a Lebanese painter whose work focuses mainly on light, color, and texture. Looking at the bulk of her work, one could see her main inspirations are the impressionist movement, mixed with Neo-Orientalism (Orientalism re-appropriated by Middle-Eastern artists as a counter-movement for reclaiming culture). El Hajj studied the Arts in three major cities: Beirut, Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and finally Paris at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs. She also holds a master’s degree in art history from the Sorbonne and has been mentored by Shafiq Abboud, whom she has also drawn inspiration from. Her paintings are dynamic, complex essays on history, philosophy, youth, and beauty. She has been awarded the International Picasso Award (1984-85) and her works have been exhibited across Europe and the Arab world.

This work - “Ayar” (May) - refers to a month in El Hajj’s life back in 1993. Although El Hajj makes no use of lines at all, her compositions do not lack perspective in the least. The artist creates depth of field using just colors: the brightly-colored mass in the forefront contrasts with the more muted colors in the back and gives the impression that the viewer is looking at a vast mountainous landscape from the side of a winding rural road.