| BACK |
Persian Miniature Painting
“The Meeting of Princess Humay and Prince Humayun, Persian manuscript
painting, 1430
Also known as manuscript illumination, this art flourished in Islamic Iran
from the 14th to the 17th centuries. It is an art of brilliant colours,
masterful brushwork, and graceful calligraphy, all created and nourished
by the patronage of Islamic princes and rulers. Persian miniatures are found
in books (manuscripts) produced for the elite of Iran. Only the very rich
and powerful could afford to commission a manuscript with miniature paintings.
The best painters and calligraphers were celebrities, highly sought after
and lavishly supported.
Materials were incredibly expensive, and included gold and silver leaf.
Most importantly, the labour involved was tremendous: it was common for
an artist to work for up to a year on a single painting. Only the wealthy
could support an atelier (artists' workshop) to produce illustrated manuscripts.
The themes of Persian miniature are mostly related to the Persian mythology
and poetry. Western artists discovered the Persian miniature in the beginning
of the 20th century. Persian miniatures use pure geometry and a vivid palette.
The allure of Persian miniature painting lies in its absorbing complexities
and in the surprising way it speaks to large questions about the nature
of art and the perception of its masterpieces.
A Young Princess by Mirza Ali,
c. 1540, Tabriz, Iran
This is an typical example of portraiture in the Persian painting tradition
This young princess leans gracefully forward as she holds a flower up to
admire its scent. The folds of her clothes fall around her. The orange and
blue tones harmonize beautifully in this miniature. The frame is in pale
blue with lines of Islamic script, poetry, interspersed.
She is a stereotype of female beauty in Persian paintings of this period.
In fact, both men and women are depicted in this delicate, flowing manner.
Portraits, unlike most miniatures, were often produced as single, stand-alone
illustrations for rich patrons. Some painters specialized in portraits,
with the later Safavid painter Reza Abbasi being particularly well-known
for his refined portraits of notables and ordinary Persians.
Seated Princess, Attributed to Mohammadi, Herat, c. 1565
www.spongobongo.com
The most important function of miniature painting was illustration. It gave
a visual image to the plots of Persian literature, making it more enjoyable,
and easier to understand. Miniature developed into a marriage of artistic
and poetic languages and was thought of in the same terms as poetry i.e.
as a lyrical art form.
The great wealth of Persian literature gave rise to the emergence of many
important miniature schools, each with its own unique style, creating a
great diversity of paintings. It was through these schools that miniature
painting achieved heights both in Iran and Central Asia. Three of the most
influential schools were in Shiraz, Tabriz, and Herat.
Artists developed a magnificent ability to create within a limited space,
a full illusion of a particular scene or landscape; for example, a picture
of a palace building, including part of its yard, inner garden and the palace
interior. Architecture and landscape were included as fully as possible.
The figures within the composition began as constrained and static, but
were subsequently painted in a more lively and natural way. As the skill
of the painters increased, the figures were placed more confidently in their
settings and the rhythmic structure of the composition became more complicated.
There is a contemporary flourishing market in copying many of the most famous
examples of these Persian miniature paintings from the past. These paintings
are reproduced by hand, by skilled craftsmen in Iran, to be sold on the
International markets. However, because the Islamic world has changed considerably,
especially in relation to its treatment of women, many of these painted
copies of old masters have the images of women covered by a black, all-enveloping
chador.
Miniatures
2002-2003
Female figures shown on reproductions of historical Persian miniature paintings
are now being provided with a chador.
www.entekhabi.org
www.geocities.com