Iranian Painting Research Articles

Assessing the Discourse System and the Visual Utterance System in the Artworks of Committed Iranian Paintings in the 60s and 70s

An attempt is made to answer the questions: How to base the Utterance system in the visual texts of Iranian painting, based on commitment discourse theory in the literature of the 60s and 70s? and What is the main difference between the Utterance and Discourse systems in visual arts? The generating institutions of this type of Utterance system necessitate the referential function for visual texts as the main component in the formation of such texts. According to these institutions, production of artwork as classical and ornamented texts convey only one meaning, unlike the phenomenal texts with multiple meanings, next to illustrating how some outstanding and common semantic signs lead to the formation of this type of Utterance system in the Iranian art.

Tbilisi in the Memories of the Early Twentieth-Century Persian Artist

In the last decades of the nineteenth century, for Iranian artists, especially from Tabriz (Azerbaijan, Iran), Tbilisi was the closest city where they could get acquainted and master the methods and techniques of European academic painting. At that time, a number of artistic societies and private or public art schools operated in Tbilisi. Around 1900, three members of the Arjangi family from Tabriz, who are considered outstanding representatives of modern Iranian painting, received an artistic education in Tbilisi: Seyd Ebrahim Aqa Mir and his sons, Seyd Hosayn Mir Mosavar Arjangi and Seyd Abbas Rasam Arjangi. A number of their works, which were revealed and inventoried by Grigol Beradze, have been preserved in the Oriental Collection of the National Museum of Georgia. Seyd Abbas Rasam Arjangi (1892-1975) arrived in Tbilisi in 1911 and spent four years here. He graduated from the School of Painting and Sculpture. In addition to works of art, Seyd Abbas Rasam left a three-volume collection of poems, as well as an autobiographical Diary of Memories, in which a large section is dedicated to the four years he spent in Tbilisi. In the part of the book about Abbas Rasam’s time in Tbilisi, attention is focused on two main aspects: 1. Study and professional development at the art school and 2. The hard life of the Iranians who were permanently or temporarily staying in Tbilisi during that period, and the socio-political activities of their revolutionary part.

Իրանահայ գեղանկարչութիւնը XX դարում (համառօտ ակնարկ)

This article provides a brief overview of the history of painting in Iran in the twentieth century, introducing Armenian Iranian painters whose works reflect the interaction and fusion of Armenian traditional artistic styles with contemporary Persian and European styles. Iranian painting in the twentieth century developed in three directions: Realism, Traditional Painting, and Modern. Armenian artists whose works are the best examples of Armenian and Iranian interaction are presented.

A comparative study of depiction of astronomical texts and astrological texts in Iranian painting

A comparative study of depiction of astronomical texts and astrological texts in Iranian painting

Feasibility Study of Persian Irony Functions in Iranian Conceptual Art

Persian language in Iranian art has had many Functions a long time ago. This function has been revealed sometimes in imagery form for literary fiction in Iranian painting, and sometimes in ultra-modern in form of representation of words, letters and sentences in the works of Iranian contemporary artists, including Ghahve-Kaneh and Sagha- Kane style painting. After the 70s, line drawing also paid attention to values of words and letters too, among them some conceptual artists, with the pursuit practical background of language make different representations from words and letters in their works. What is necessary is that, Persian language is a treasury which has many capabilities for transmission of ideas and concepts. As for contemporary conceptual art, we can see that these capabilities have been neglected. This means that with Compilation of conceptual art and analysis of them. The question is, how can Persian allusions be involved in the structure of the creation of conceptual art? The findings of this descriptive-analytical study show that by doing this, with change substance in language, it means, word to art essence, ready one, produce, which follow construction of idea transmission of conceptual art, non-skillful being predetermination programing, non-subjectivity, also evidence and briefness.

A comparative study of painting and architecture stylistics of contemporary Iranian and western arts

Iranian art reflects the spirit and inclinations of Iranians, regardless of place and time of origin. Another point is the diversity of works of art which shows that the ancient Iranians had high skills in different regions. Iranian architecture and painting have always been present side by side and influentially throughout history, and this connection persists until today in contemporary Iranian art. The present article is a research on the features and concepts of architectural and painting styles in contemporary Iranian art and a comparative comparison of these two arts which is centered on the concept of architecture and painting. The contemporary architectural styles and tendencies in question date back to the first and subsequent Pahlavi rule. The general objectives of the research are to apply the styles of painting and architecture in Iranian art to achieve the same conceptualism of these two arts. For this purpose, three main categories have been studied: the first part is contemporary Iranian architecture, the second part is contemporary Iranian painting and the third part is a comparative comparison of contemporary Iranian architectural and painting styles. The present research is an analytical and comparative research and the research method is based on the application of styles and logical reasoning. Documentary and library studies and theories of experts are also the basis of this article.

Research on the Class Origins of Modern Painting Audiences in Iran between 1940-1970 A.D.

Modern Iranian painting emerged and developed between 1940 and 1970 A.D. and became the dominant current in the field of visual arts of Iran. The Khorus Jangi Society which consisted of a group of pioneering artists had an important role to establish this new current.The continuity and authority of this current is not only owed to the producers and distributors of modern works of art but also to the consumers-audiences of them. Although the emergence and continuation of Modern paintiongs was understandable along the policy of modernization, and cultural developments in Iran, it was not understandable for all urban classes. At the same time, the efforts of artists and the government to reduce the distance between people in general and these works of art were not very successful. Main question is about the origin and social class dependency of these audiences .Collecting information from the mentioned texts, and comparing them with the result of sociological studies about classes and social strata in Iran, has not only been effective in determining the accuracy and validity of this scattered information but also to some extent has clarified the class origin of Modern painting audiences. As a result, it can be said that most of the audience of Modern painting, not all of them, was from the upper class and elite, and the urban middle class, including intellectuals and students in genral. Due to some cultural factors such as religious and customary beliefs, and fashionism resulting from the modernization in Pahlavid era, it can not be inferred that all of mentioned classes had been consumers of Modern paintings or at least the most sincere fans of it.

A study of colourant uses in illuminated Islamic manuscripts from the Qājār period (1789–1925 C.E), early modern Iran

The study was undertaken to explore the widespread use of colourants, raw materials and technology of colour production to illuminate Qur’ān manuscripts in the Qājār period, Iran (1789–1925 C.E.). SEM-EDX and µ-Raman spectroscopy were employed as non-invasive/non-destructive complementary techniques. The SEM-BSE images contribute to distinguishing between organic/inorganic origin of colourants and the EDX to identify gilding composition as well as providing a short-list of potential colourants to be confirmed by µ-Raman spectroscopy as a compound-specific technique. The results show the most identified colourants are mineral-based pigment; these include carbon black, ultramarine, Prussian blue, vermillion, and red lead. Brass, pure gold, and a gold-silver alloy were detected as metallic ink/paint as gilding. We hypothesise the red diacritic in S01 have organic nature with an anthraquinone derivative structure, but we were unable to specifically identify it. We also hypothesise the yellow constituents in S02 might contain saffron and lead-containing compound(s) as a thickening agent and/or chemical drier. Our findings were in agreement with information available in Persian and English bibliographical sources on Iranian painting and illuminated manuscripts of the Qājār period. Further analysis by SR-µFTIR, FORS, SERS and HPLC is required to confirm our assumption and to complete colourant identification.

The effect of gamma irradiation to eliminate fungal contamination on two model colors of Iranian paintings

Improper storage conditions may cause fungal contamination of old paintings. In this regard, gamma radiation which is an effective method for fungal decontamination of objects can be applied. However, the side effect of this method, the change of colors due to gamma radiation, should be investigated. In this study, to define the dose of decontamination, painted canvases with mixtures of two mineral pigments and binder were prepared and used as model samples. These model samples were aged and then inoculated with spores of two common types of fungal strains, Penicillium chrysogenum, and Aspergillus niger. The fungal radiation sensitivity (D10 value) on the samples was determined. The minimum sterilization dose of gamma-ray (Dm) for decontamination was calculated according to the D10 values, and 3 logarithmic cycles reduction of initial contamination. Results showed that D10 values of Penicillium chrysogenum ATCC 12690 and Aspergillus niger CBS 104.57 spores on model samples were 1.47 ± 0.3 and 0.702 ± 0.13 kGy respectively. Sterility test presented Dm of 5 kGy as sufficient dose to achieve 3 logarithmic cycles reduction of initial contamination. Also, in this study, the changes of the model colors due to the irradiation process were evaluated by using the colorimetric method. For this purpose, after the aging of model colors, the aged samples were irradiated at a dose of 5 kGy (Dm). Colorimetric results for fresh, aged, aged & irradiated model colors were obtained and revealed that the irradiation process with a dose of 5 kGy did not induce any significant color alterations.

Introduction to Jalal AL-E Ahmad's “To Mohassess, For the Wall”

Abstract “To Mohassess, For the Wall” is an article written in 1964 by Jalal Al-e Ahmad, one of the most influential and charismatic Iranian intellectuals of the time. Three years before writing this article, Al-e Ahmad had published Weststruckness, discussing the Iranians’ cultural alienation caused by the dependence on the west. In “To Mohassess, For the Wall”, Al-e Ahmad shifts his analysis to Iranian painting, arguing that Iranian painters during the 1960s merely repeat Western cultural processes and strategies instead of constructing Iranian ones. The context for Al-e Ahmad's argument is the Pahlavi regime's radical program of rapid modernization, which in the area of the arts was systematically expanded. Critical, provocative or problematic, the article offers a crucial window into the adoption of Western-style modernism by Iranian painters during the 1960s and into how an “insider” intellectual such as Al-e Ahmad evaluated the modernization of Iranian art before the background of what he perceived as the critical neglect of Iranian traditions. The text is addressed to Bahman Mohassess, a painter whom Al-e Ahmad considered to be one of the few who had not been coopted by the cultural policies of the Shah's regime.

To Mohassess, For the Wall

Abstract “To Mohassess, For the Wall” is an article written in 1964 by Jalal Al-e Ahmad, one of the most influential and charismatic Iranian intellectuals of the time. Three years before writing this article, Al-e Ahmad had published Weststruckness, discussing the Iranians’ cultural alienation caused by the dependence on the west. In “To Mohassess, For the Wall”, Al-e Ahmad shifts his analysis to Iranian painting, arguing that Iranian painters during the 1960s merely repeat Western cultural processes and strategies instead of constructing Iranian ones. The context for Al-e Ahmad's argument is the Pahlavi regime's radical program of rapid modernization, which in the area of the arts was systematically expanded. Critical, provocative or problematic, the article offers a crucial window into the adoption of Western-style modernism by Iranian painters during the 1960s and into how an “insider” intellectual such as Al-e Ahmad evaluated the modernization of Iranian art before the background of what he perceived as the critical neglect of Iranian traditions. The text is addressed to Bahman Mohassess, a painter whom Al-e Ahmad considered to be one of the few who had not been coopted by the cultural policies of the Shah's regime.

From the Editors

From the Editors

The Study and Analysis of The Prevailing Elements and Patterns in The Background of The Works of Mirzababa, A Qajar Painter

The Qajar period is the beginning of many important and long-lasting developments in Iran's contemporary era. Among these developments, we should mention the changes in Iranian arts and the aspects that these arts had with them. Planning and backgrounding were among the aspects that entered Iranian painting with the entrance of Western art elements. Mirzababa was one of the most important painters of the first Qajar period, and the way he used these elements became an unwritten and frequently used pattern among artists. The purpose of the present article is to analyze the background of his works and to understand his backgrounding. The research is a theoretical and a descriptive-analytical research. The statistical population of the research consists of the works of Mirzababa and because the number of works that have reached us is limited, the sample size is all of his works. The research data show that Mirzababa had been backgrounding according to the type of art or used medium. Backgrounds have a general pattern or contractual elements that have an interior, exterior, or a combination of both spaces rather than the used medium.

Comparative analysis of mythological role of Layla in poems of Nezami and Jami and its representation in Iranian painting

Comparative analysis of mythological role of Layla in poems of Nezami and Jami and its representation in Iranian painting

Recovering the Characteristics of the Shiraz Painting School in Painting of Al-Inju and Al-Muzaffar Period and its Impact on Iranian Painting

Recovering the Characteristics of the Shiraz Painting School in Painting of Al-Inju and Al-Muzaffar Period and its Impact on Iranian Painting

Identification of pigments in artworks by inverse tangent derivative of spectrum and a new filtering method

Employing an economical and non-destructive method for identifying pigments utilized in artworks is a significant aspect for preserving their antiquity value. One of the non-destructive methods for this purpose is spectrophotometry, which is based on the selected absorption of light. Mathematical descriptive methods such as derivatives of the reflectance spectrum, the Kubelka–Munk function and logarithm have been employed for the characterization of the peak features corresponding to the spectrophotometric data. In the present study, the mentioned mathematical descriptive methods were investigated with the aim to characterize the constituents of an Iranian artwork but were not efficient for the samples. Therefore, inverse tangent derivative equation was developed on spectral data for the first time, providing considerable details in the profile of reflectance curves. In the next part, to have a simpler and more practical method it was suggested to use filters made up of pure pigments. By using these filters and placing them on the samples, imaging was done. Then, images of samples with and without filter were evaluated and pure pigments were distinguished. The mentioned methods were also used to identify pigments in a modern Iranian painting specimen. The results confirmed these methods with reliable answers indicating that physical methods (alongside chemical methods) can also be effective in determining the types of pigments.

The Pioneers of Iranian New Painting

Abstract In an interview, the Iranian painter Ahmad Esfandiari (1922–2012) related that he witnessed a particularly difficult time at the beginning of his career, when he did not know what direction his work might take. Slowly he overcame this fear of the unknown and discovered ‘the pleasure of uncharted paths’. But the critics did not see any social value in his work (Mojabi 1998: 155). In his testimony, Ahmad Esfandiari described the tumultuous 1940s, during which an innovative pictorial style called ‘New Painting’ appeared in Iran. Contrary to popular opinion, contemporary Iranian painting did not begin in the 1960s with the Saqqakhaneh group of artists. Its origins can be found in the 1940s. In this article, conceived as a manifesto, I introduce the first generation of New Painting artists and I argue against a canon that has overlooked them in spite of their innovative accomplishments and profound impact.

Inspiring of handicrafts in contemporary Iranian painting

Inspiring of handicrafts in contemporary Iranian painting

Illus tration of Samacheh Dance in Prehis toric Iranian Paintings

آدمیان در گذر زمان تلاش کرده‌اند اندیشه‌ها و باورهایشان را صورتی عینی بخشیده و آن را تصویرسازی کنند. تصاویر ظروف منقوش باستانی باقی‌مانده که حاوی پیا‌م‌های گوناگون است بهترین گواه این مدعاست. مطالعه ظروف کاربردی‌-هنری بخش اعظمی از هویت مردمان سرزمین کهن ایران را می ­تواند آشکار کند و اطلاعات ژرفی از هنرهای دیگر این مرز و بوم را منتقل ­سازد. نقوش انسانی در حال انجام حرکات موزون از جمله آثاری است که در ورای خود سبقه فرهنگی و معنایی بارز توجه‌ایی را متبلور می‌نماید. در این میان حرکات موزون متفاوت و شاخص ­تر از دیگر نقوش رقصنده برظروف مشاهده می‌شود که می ­توان آنها را در یک گروه، به «رقص با سماچه» موسوم دانست. این مقاله با هدفی کاربردی در جهت شناخت و شناساندن این پدیده انجام شده و مسئله اصلی آن واکاوی و هویت­ یابی تاریخی هنری رقص با سماچه در ایران می‌باشد. روش تحقیق کیفی می‌باشد و با رویکردی تحلیلی- توصیفی، براساس گردآوری اطلاعات مکتوب کتابخانه‌ایی انجام شده است. نتیجه حاصله نشان از آن دارد که رقص با سماچه پدیده‌ایی نمایش‌گونه و کهن در ایران است که می‌توان با کاربردی کردن آن در هنرهای نمایشی، راه برون‌رفت از بن‌بست های کلیشه‌ای نمایش در ایران و حتی جهان را مهیا ساخت.

The Challenge Inside and Outside in Iranian Painting According to Derrida’s Reading of Kant’s

دریدا در خوانشی از«نقد قوه حکم»کانت، مفهوم پارارگون را در سایة قاب مورد بررسی قرار داده است. کانت با طرح پارارگون مرزهای غیرقابل نفوذی بین درون و بیرون اثر هنری ترسیم می نماید که به فرمالیسم و یا باور مشهور هنر برای هنر منجر شده است. سوال بنیادین این مقاله نیز دقیقا براساس همین طرحواره صورت گرفته است: با توجه به مفهوم پارارگون، چگونه می توان چالش درون و بیرون در آثار نقاشی ایرانی را تحلیل نمود؟ باطرح این سوال، با هدف مواجهه ای دیگرگونه با متن(اثر هنری) و خوانش دیکانستراکشن، آثار از طریق پارارگون و رابطة بینامتنی به ساحت هایی غیر از زیبایی شناسی- فلسفه، ادبیات، تاریخ، جامعه شناسی، اخلاق، فرهنگ و... پیوند می یابند. مقاله ضمن مروری کوتاه بر آرای دریدا و تحلیل مفهوم پارارگون و برملا کردن تناقضات پنهان در آرای زیبایی شناسی کانت، به روشی کیفی و با استفاده از منابع کتابخانه ای و اینترنتی به واکاوی نقاشی ایرانی پرداخته، و مهمترین چالش مطرح شده در پارارگون کانت، یعنی درون و بیرون را در آثار نقاشی ایرانی ردیابی می نماید. اینگونه خوانش می تواند به مثابه رهنمونی روش شناختی، در حوزه های متنوع تجسمی بکار آید.