Perspectives On Persian Painting

This is a detailed study of the illustrations to Amir Khusrau's Khamsah, in which twenty discourses are followed by a brief parable, and four romances. Amir Khusrau (1253-1325) lived the greater part of adventurous life in Delhi; he composed in Persian, and also in Hindi. From the point of view of manuscript illustration, his most important work is his Khamsah (Quintet'). Khusrau's position as a link between cultures of Persia and India means that the early illustrated copies of the Khamsah have a particular interest. The first extant exemplar is from the Persian area in the late 14th century, but a case can be made that work was probably illustrated earlier in India.

A stunning catalog of Persian miniature paintings and manuscripts from The al-Sabah Collection, placed in their historical and artistic context

Exploration of Iranian art and artists over the past 100 years.

The artworks currently showcased have been collected jointly by Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts (TMCA) and Iran's Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO). The collection on show includes not only some of the golden pages of the recorded national history of art but manifests the artistic achievements of the outstanding Iranian masters of art who have succeeded in depicting the mystery of Divine creation on canvas by means of their intellectual, scientific and practical faculties. Thus the timeless heritage of their experience has been recorded in the history of mankind forever. Ferdowsi's Book of Kings (Shahnameh), Nezami's Khamseh (a collection of five books in verse), Sa'di's Golestan and Boustan, Hafiz's Poetry Collection, and even the sensational exquisite stories of One Thousand and One Nights inter-connect various eras of the history and express the mystery of man's unity in terms of Islamic wisdom and the language of art. A collection of these masterpieces and dozens of pieces of Persian Paintings dating back to Timurid and Safavid eras, a collection that manifests exalted concepts and mysteries of the realities about mankind, is now being showcased at TMCA after a long period of oblivion. The display of the valuable artworks of prominent masters of art from the Iranian and Indian painting schools in a single exhibition undoubtedly marks a turning point and will pave the way for the future developments of Iran's visual arts. The precious pieces of Persian Paintings currently on show include a selection of the masterpieces produced by Kamaleddin Behzad, Amin Khalil, Qavameddin, Khajeh Ghiaseddin, Mir Azod, Qasem Ali, Mozaffar Ali, Mirza Ali, Mahmoud Mozzaheb, Heidar Ali, Maqsoud, Farhad, Sultan Mohammad, Aqa Mirak, Mir Seyed Ali, Abdul-Samad, Mir Mosavvar, Abdul-Aziz, Qadimi, Reza Abbasi and Aqa Reza. The artworks safeguarded at the archives of libraries over the past centuries are now on exhibit at TMCA and have drawn the attention of the world lovers of spiritual art. Given the high interest of the world researchers in the artworks on display, many applications have been received from foreign museums for hosting similar expositions in future. What can be learned from the timless and unbound-in-space Persian Paintings is the way to express abstract and exalted concepts in terms of the familiar pictorial elements. Refined forms and colors, the elixir of texture and magic combination of basic elements seen from the front (instead of in perspective) create a single flat image of the great heritage of the Persian Painting. The atrocity of raging wars, the fainting of Leili (the beloved) and Majnoun (the lover) and their collapse on the sandy desert on coming face to face, the enchanted Gnostics breaking into dance and the Prophet Mohammad's (PBUH) ascension to the celestial sphere while floating in light, all reflect the reality and image of the pure heart of the artists who viewed the world, its Creator and creatures with love. Therefore, association with these artists and inspection of their art will reveal to the world the real face of this art of the present age and will unveil the true concept of contemporary art.

This book is the first survey of the figural arts of the Iranian world from prehistoric times to the early twentieth century ever to consider themes, rather than styles. Analyzing primarily painting - in manuscripts and albums, on walls and on lacquered, painted pen boxes and caskets - but also the related arts of sculpture, ceramics, and metalwork, the author finds that the underlying themes depicted on them through the ages are remarkably consistent. Eleanor Sims demonstrates that all these arts display similar concerns: kingship and legitimacy; the righteous exercise of princely power and the defense of national territory; and the performance of rituals and the religious duties called for by the paramount cult of the day. She describes a variety of superb works of art inside and outside these categories, noting not only how they illustrate archetypal themes but also what it is about them that is unique. She also discusses the ways that Iranian art both influenced and was influenced by invaders and neighboring lands. Boris I. Marshak discusses pre-Islamic and also Central Asian art, in particular the earliest Iranian wall paintings and their pictorial parallels in rock carvings and metalwork, and the richly painted temples and houses of Panjikent. Ernst J. Grube considers religious imagery, and provides an informative bibliography.

Collected articles on Iranian art from the Qajar dynasty. The thirteen articles in this volume were originally given as presentations at the symposium of the same name organized in June 2018 by the Musée du Louvre and the Musée du Louvre-Lens in conjunction with the exhibition The Empire of Roses: Masterpieces of 19th Century Persian Art. The exhibition explored the art of Iran in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, while the nation was under the rule of the Qajar dynasty. The symposium set out to present research on previously unknown and unpublished objects from this rich period of art history. This volume, published with the Louvre Museum in France, is divided into four sections. The first, "Transitions and Transmissions," is dedicated to the arts of painting, illumination, and lithography. The focus of the second section, entitled "The Image Revealed," also considers works on paper, looking at new themes and techniques. "The Material World" examines the use of materials such as textiles, carpets, and armor. The articles in the final section discuss the history of two groups of artifacts acquired by their respective museums.

The first comprehensive survey of modern and contemporary Iranian art by a noted expert in this field.

Iranian (Persian) art from the 13th century through the end of the 18th century.