Hassan Massoudy was born in Najaf, Iraq in 1944. Growing up in the traditional society of Najaf, he showed great artistic promise in his early years through figurative paintings and drawings.

Due to political reasons against him, he was refused admission to the Fine Arts Academy in Baghdad in 1961.

He started working as an apprentice to various commercial calligraphers in Baghdad, while aspiring to become a figurative painter. He moved to Paris in 1969 and found work as a calligrapher, working for an Algerian-Arabic magazine.

In 1970 he enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he studied figurative painting. However he started to focus more on calligraphy and through various collaborations with musicians, dancers, and actors he created a unique style that has inspired many other artists since.

He met his wife Isabelle, who was an illustrator, at Ecole des Beaux-Arts. Together they have a daughter and two grandchildren, and continued to live and work in Paris.

Hassan has still has not returned to Iraq.