Persian miniature is a richly detailed picture of a small size, which depicts the religious or mythological subjects of the Middle East region, now known as Iran. The art of miniature painting in Persia flourished from the 13th to the 16th centuries. This continues to this day, as some contemporary artists reproduce prominent Persian miniatures. These paintings, as a rule, have a very high level of detail.
Definition
Persian miniature is a small picture, whether it be a book illustration or a separate work of art, intended for storage in an album. The techniques are generally comparable to the Western and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illustrated manuscripts, which probably influenced the origin of Iranian painting.
Features
There are several characteristic features of Persian miniatures (photo below). The first is the size and level of detail. Many of these paintings are quite small, but they contain complex scenes that can be viewed for hours. The classic Persian miniature is also distinguished by the presence of accents made in gold and silver along with a very bright range of colors. The perspective in these works includes elements superimposed on each other in such a way that those who are used to the appearance and feel of Western art are not easy to perceive these drawings.
Development
Persian miniatures were originally ordered as illustrations for manuscripts. Only very wealthy people could afford them, and the production of some of the paintings lasted up to a year. In the end, not so wealthy people also began to collect these works of art in separate albums. Many of these collections, fortunately, have survived to this day along with other examples of Persian art.
Persian book miniatures arose under the influence of Chinese art. This is indicated by some themes and plots that appear in some early examples of miniatures. For example, many of the mythological creatures depicted in the early period of the development of Persian art are strikingly reminiscent of animals of Chinese mythology. Over time, however, Persian artists developed their own style and themes, and the concept of Persian miniatures echoes the culture of neighboring regions.
Such drawings also deserve close attention: the longer you look at them, the more details and the more manifested. Studying one such work can take a whole day.
Description of Persian Thumbnail
This type of painting became a significant form of Persian art in the 13th century, and it reached its peak in the 15th-16th centuries. Further development of this tradition took place partly under the influence of Western culture. Persian miniature greatly contributed to the development of Islamic miniature.
Despite the influence at other stages of the development of art in other countries, Persian miniature art had its own distinctive features. The artists of Iran are easily recognized by their natural and realistic motives. It is also worth noting the Persian technique of “layering” perspectives to create a sense of space. This gives the viewer a sense of three-dimensional space and the ability to focus on certain aspects of the image, excluding others.
Content and form are the main elements of miniature painting, and artists are known for their subtle use of color. The themes of these works of art are mainly related to Persian mythology and poetry. They use pure geometry and a bright palette.
Background
The history of the art of painting in Iran dates back to the Stone Age. In the caves of Lorestan province, painted animal images and hunting scenes were discovered. In Fars, drawings were discovered, whose age is approximately five thousand years. Images found on pottery in Lorestan and other archaeological sites prove that the artists of this region were familiar with the art of painting. Also, several paintings were found dating back to the time of the Ashkanids (III - I century BC), most of which were found in the northern part of the El Furat River (Euphrates). One of these paintings is a hunting scene. The position of the riders and animals, as well as the style of this work resembles Iranian miniatures.
In the paintings of the Achaemenid era, the work of artists differs in the incredible ratio and beauty of the flowers. In some cases, black bars were used to limit multi-colored surfaces.
In the desert of Turkestan, paintings dating back to 840–860 years of our era were found. These paintings showcase traditional Iranian scenes and portraits. The earliest images relating to the Islamic period are rather few in number; they were created in the first half of the 13th century.
School of painting
Since about the 7th century, China has played a large role in the development of the art of painting in Iran. Since then, a connection has been established between Buddhist Chinese and Persian artists. From a historical point of view, the most important evolution in Iranian art has been the adoption of the Chinese style of drawing and colors, which are mixed with the concept of Persian artists. In the first centuries after the advent of Islam, Iranian artists began to decorate books with miniatures.
Images dating back to the beginning of the Islamic period belonged to the Baghdad school. These miniatures completely lost the style and methods of ordinary painting of the pre-Islamic period. They are not proportional, they use light colors. The artists of the Baghdad school, after many years of stagnation, sought to create something new. They began to draw animals and illustrate stories.
Although the Baghdad school, given the pre-Islamic art, is somewhat superficial and primitive, the art of Iranian miniature in the same period was widespread in all regions in which Islam was spread: in the Far East, Africa and other countries.
Most of the 13th century manuscript books are supplemented with images of animals, plants, and illustrations for fables and stories.
An example of the most ancient Iranian miniature is the drawings of a book called Manafi al-Khaiwan (1299 AD). It presents stories about animals, as well as their allegorical meaning. Numerous images introduce the reader to the Iranian art of painting. Images are made in bright colors, some miniatures show the influence of Far Eastern art: some images are drawn with ink.
After the Mughal invasion, a new school appeared in Iran. She was completely influenced by Chinese and Mughal styles. These paintings are all very small in size, with static images made in the Far Eastern style.
Persian miniature adopted such features of Mughal art as decorative compositions and thin short lines. The style of Iranian paintings could be described as linear. Artists in this area have shown particular creativity and originality.
At the Mughal court, they honored not only Persian art technique, but also the theme of paintings. Some of the artists' works were illustrations of Iranian literary masterpieces, such as Ferdousi's Shahnameh.
Unlike the Baghdad and Mughal images, more works are left from the Kharat school. The founders of this painting style were the ancestors of Timur, and the school was named after the place in which it was founded.
Art historians believe that in the era of Timur, the art of painting in Iran reached its zenith. During this period, many outstanding masters created, it was they who brought a new touch to Persian painting.
Kemal ad-Din Behzad Heraui
This artist (c. 1450 - c. 1535) was the author of many Persian miniatures and headed the royal workshop (kitabhana) in Herat and Tabriz during the late Timurids and the early Safavids.
It is also known as Kemal ad-Din Behzad or Kamaleddin Behzad.
Persian painting of that period often uses the arrangement of geometric architectural elements as the structural or compositional context in which the figures are located. Behzad, using the traditional geometric style, stretched this compositional construction in several ways. First, he often used open, empty areas without a picture, around which the action takes place. He also placed images around the plane in some organic stream.
Gestures of figures and objects are not only natural, expressive and active, but also arranged so that the gaze constantly moves along the entire plane of the image. Compared to other medieval miniaturists, he more boldly used contrasting dark colors. Another quality characteristic of his work is the narrative playfulness: an almost hidden eye and a partial image of Bahram's face when he peers while watching the girls frolic in the pool below; an upright goat that looks like a demon on the edge of the horizon in the story of an old woman confronting Sanjar's sins.
Behzad also uses Sufi symbolism and symbolic color to convey meaning. He brought naturalism to Persian painting, especially in portraying more individualized figures and using realistic gestures and facial expressions.
The most famous works of Behzad are "The Seduction of Yusuf" from Bustan Saadi of 1488 and paintings from the Nizami manuscript of the British Library of 1494-95. The establishment of authorship in some cases can be problematic (and many academics now claim that it does not matter), but most of the works attributed to him date back to 1488-1495.
He is also mentioned in the famous novel by Orhan Pamuk “My name is red” as one of the greatest Persian miniature painters. Pamuk’s novel says that Kemal ad-Din Behzad blinded himself with a needle.
The artist himself was born, lived and worked in Herat (in modern Afghanistan) under the Timurids, and then in Tabriz during the Safavid dynasty. Being an orphan, he was brought up by the outstanding artist Mirak Nakkash and was a protege of the writer Mir Ali Shir Nevai. His main patrons in Herat were the Timurid Sultan Hussein Baykara (reigned in 1469-1506) and other emirs from his entourage. After the fall of the Timurids, he was hired by Shah Ismail I Sefavi in ​​Tabriz, where, as the head of the ruler’s workshop, he had a decisive influence on the development of the art of the Safavids. Behzad died in 1535, his grave is in Tabriz.
Age of the Safavids
During this period, the art center was moved to Tabriz. Several artists also settled in Qazvin. However, the Safavid school of painting was founded in Esfahan. The miniature of Iran in this era was spared the influence of the Chinese and entered a new stage of development. Artists were then more prone to naturalism.
Riza Yi Abbasi
He was the most famous Persian miniaturist, artist and calligrapher of the Isfahan school, which flourished during the Safavid period under the patronage of Shah Abbas I.
He was the founder of the Safavid School of Painting. The art of drawing in the Safavid era has undergone a significant transformation. Riza Abbasi (1565 - 1635) is considered one of the leading Persian artists of all time. He was trained in the workshop of his father Ali Asgar and was accepted into the workshop of Shah Abbas I, while still a young man.
At the age of about 38, he received the honorary title of Abbasi from his patron, but soon left the job for the Shah, apparently striving for greater freedom of communication with ordinary people. In 1610, he returned to the shah, with whom he remained until his death. In his miniatures, he preferred a naturalistic depiction of images, which he often painted in a feminine and impressionistic manner. This style became popular during the late Safavid period.
Many of his works portray beautiful young people, often in the role of a “winemaker,” to whom older people sometimes turn their admiring glances, which is a manifestation of the Persian tradition of appreciating youthful masculine beauty.
Today, his work can be found in the museum that bears his name in Tehran, as well as in many large museums in the West, such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Features of the Safavid school
The miniatures created during this period were not intended solely for decorating and illustrating books. Safavid style is softer in shape than in previous schools. Human images and their behavior do not seem artificial, on the contrary, they are natural and close to reality.
In Safavid paintings, the splendor and grandeur of this period is the main attraction. The main theme of the paintings is life at the royal court, the nobility, beautiful palaces, scenes of battles and banquets.
Artists paid more attention to generality, avoiding unnecessary details. The smoothness of lines, the rapid expression of feelings and the thickening of plots are the main characteristics of the Safavids painting style. From the end of this era, perspective and shading appeared in Persian miniatures as a result of the influence of the European style of painting.
Kajara Dynasty (1795-1925)
The paintings of this era are a combination of classical European art and Safavid miniature techniques. During this period, Mohammad Ghaffari Kamal-ul-Molk developed the European classical style of painting in Iran. At the end of this period, a new style appeared in the history of Iranian painting, called the “coffee house art,” which actually marked the decline of Persian art.
Influence
The aesthetics and imagery of medieval Persian miniatures influenced not only artists. In particular, this applies to poetry. Poem N.S. Gumilyov's “Persian Miniature” was included in the collections “Pillar of Fire” and “Persia” (1921). It is a reflection of the art world of Iranian miniaturists.
When I finish, finally
A game of cache-cache with death gloomy,
The Creator will make me
Persian miniature.
And the sky is like turquoise
And the prince who raised barely
Almond-shaped eyes
On the rise of a girl's swing.
With a spear bloodied shah
Striving the path of unfaithful
At cinnabar heights
For the flying sulfuric.
And neither in a dream nor in reality
Unprecedented tuberoses,
And a sweet evening in the grass
Already tilted vines.
And on the back,
Like the clouds of Tibet clean
I will be pleased to wear
The icon of the great artist.
The fragrant old man
Negotsiant or courtier
Having looked, I will fall in love instantly
Love sharp and persistent.
His monotonous days
I will be the guiding star.
Wine, lovers and friends
I will replace one by one.
And so when I quench
Without rapture, without suffering
My old dream is
Awaken adoration everywhere.
The deep meaning of Gumilyov’s “Persian Miniature” is connected, firstly, with the lyrical theme of the thirst for love. In addition, the poet covertly introduces fairy tale characters into it. Secondly, the Persian Miniature verse is a symbol of the imperishable world created thanks to the power of the poet’s word.