Ahmad Nasha’at Al Zuaby’s artistic process involves spiritual introspection as a means to create an image. Al Zuaby only begins to paint following a period of contemplation, when the scene he has been imagining has faded from his memory. Focusing on urban and rural landscapes as well as daily life, he tries to re-imagine and assemble indistinct scenes from the depths of his memory through painting. In 1956, he founded the Circle of Artists of Hama. Among the first to graduate from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Damascus in 1964, Al Zuaby also studied painting in Cairo and helped to establish the Fine Arts Association. As part of his graduation project in 1964, Al Zuaby created the piece featured here, The Bathers, which features underground baths in his Syrian hometown Hama. In the emotive scene, soft light penetrates from the thick crystal domes and mingles with the water fumes. The artist employs a solid academic approach along with a hazy palette of subdued colours, to embody his main objective: washing the spirits rather than the bodies. In 1969, Al Zuaby co-founded the Group of Ten for Modern Art, which included the pioneering Syrian artists Naim Ismail, Elias Zayat and Nazir Nabaa. His work was exhibited at the Triennial-India in New Delhi in 1971 and 8th Alexandria Biennial in 1970, and is also included in various public collections such as the National Museum of Damascus.