Invested with Life

Wall Painting and Imagery before the Qajars

Bibliographic Data

ID9978899
AuthorsLayla S Diba (corresponding author)
Year2001
Volume34
Issue1-4
Pages5-16
Publication date2001-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIranian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-0862 • E-ISSN: 1475-4819
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1080/00210860108701994
OpenAlexW1990587660
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited14

In the majority of Islamic countries, the art of painting has been restricted to non-figural and geometric designs in the public sphere, and strictly limited to small-scale narrative illustrations of manuscripts in the private sphere. By contrast, Qajar Iran witnessed the development of large-scale figural painting. Such a decisive break with Islamic tradition—where religious and social beliefs were primarily expressed through textual and calligraphic means—indicates that Iran possessed a distinctive, strongly visual culture. Nevertheless, Qajar painting has been perceived in the past as an offshoot of European easel painting. In fact, Qajar painting, most particularly during the reign of the second ruler Fath c Ali Shah (1797-1834), represents the culmination of a long-standing indigenous tradition of imagery in both monumental painting and sculptural formats, primarily utilized for the decoration of palaces, exemplified by the bas reliefs and sculptures of the Achaemenid palace of Persepolis. Wall painting predated and subsequently coexisted with the better known traditions of decorative and manuscript painting

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Calligraphy · Indigenous · Islam · Literature · Narrative · Painting · Reign · Ruler · Sculpture · Visual arts · Conservation Techniques and Studies · Cultural Heritage Materials Analysis · History · Law · Visual Culture and Art Theory

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