Hassan Massoudy was born in Najaf, Iraq. He moved to France in 1969, where he studied at L’École des Beaux-Arts. Considered to be one of the greatest living calligraphers, his work has influenced a generation of artists. It has been exhibited throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and is housed in the permanent collections of the British Museum and the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, among others. Nineteen books of Massoudy’s calligraphy have been published in France, where he now lives. His publications in English include The Calligrapher’s Garden, Calligraphies of Love and Calligraphies of the Desert.