History of Persian miniature

FOTOWAT GALLERY

Persian Miniature Collection

.

History of persian miniature

The origins of Persian painting unquestionably predate the advent of Islamic civilization in Persia. From the 9th century onwards with the emergence of local ruling dynasties and the growing influence of distinguished Persian figures at the Abbasid court, Persian cultural and artistic traditions, which had remained stagnant for several centuries, because pre-Islamic Persian art had been based on their ancient Persian wisdom.

Mongol hordes invaded and devastated Persia during the 13th and 14th century Genghis khan’s invasion began in 1219 and lasted until 1222 the army of Holaku marched into Persia and razed Samarqand in 1256 Before taking control of Baghdad and overthrowing the Abbasid dynasty three years later. Timur’s repeated bloody onslaughts at the close of the 14th century left many Persian cities in ruins and innumerable people dead. In the course of these savage invasions, wall paintings inside palaces were destroyed and thousands of manuscripts both illustrated and non-illustrated were burned to ashes when libraries across the country were put to flame.This explains the scarcity of pictorial works from before the Mongol invasions, either in the form of illustrated manuscripts or wall paintings.

Il-khanid painting in Tabriz

Political stability gradually returned to Persia after the last Il-khans embraced Islam and adopted the indigenous Persian culture and civilization.
Thanks to the managerial skills and the administrative experience the native Persians brought to the Il-khans government, scientific and cultural activities flourished and cities began proposing anew. During the rein of Ghazan-khan (1295-1304) the physician and historian Rashid-o-Din Hamadani rose to the post of prime minister. He commissioned and supervised the creation in the suburbs of Tabriz of Rabe-e-Rashidi, which became the gathering place for numerous scientists, calligraphers, artists and writers who soon began producing and illustrating sundry manuscripts in it’s workshops. It was during that era (Il-khanid period, 14th century) that the Tabriz school of painting reached full maturity. This school best reveals its personality and particularities in the illustrated copy of the Jami-al-Tawarikh compiled by Rashid-o-Din himself and said to have been reproduced and illustrated in approximately twenty Persian and Arabic copies, and in a copy of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh (ca.1335), referred to as the Demotte Shahnameh.
By the close of the 14th century the Mongols influence had decreased. For example although they preserved some of the early characteristics such as attention to realism and representation of human moods and feelings through their characters postures, the illustrations contained in a copy of Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, created around 1335 for Abu-saeed, display the full refinement and maturity of Persian art in their decoration, coloring and composition.

Demotte Shahnameh 14th Century

Jame Al Tavarikh 14th Century

Shiraz in the 14th century

At the same time that painting and book illustration flourished in western Persia around Tabriz, miniature painting continued its evolution in southern Persia, Undergoing relatively different developments. In fact escaping unscathed from the assault of Mongol hordes, the province of Fars and Shiraz witnessed the natural evolution of Persian painting traditions, free from Mongol influence, and compositions involving imposing figures, symmetrical structures, purer colors and more elaborate decoration were perpetuated by its artists.
The persistence of the painting traditions of this region, which was more in touch with the evolution of the school of Baghdad than was Tabriz, is best exemplified in the illustrations of the Varqheh-va-Golshah manuscript.
The decorative features, palette and simple composition of the works produced by the school of the Shiraz are best visible in the paintings of a Shahnameh created around 1332 and today preserved at the Topkapi Saray Museum in Istanbul.

Vargheh va Golshah – 14th Century

Miniature painting under the Jalayerids

The end of Il-khanid rules after Abu-saeed Bahador-khans death provided an opportunity for local governments to emerge across Persia. This period which lasted until the end of the 14th century (the date of Timur’s invasion), was a golden era during which the painting styles of western and southern Persia most effectively came together. In the interim period between the down fall of the Mongol Il-khans and the onset of Timur’s invasions, the Jalayerid dynasty enjoyed a more important position, which allowed it to rule from Baghdad to Tabriz for more than half a century (From around 1340-1411). This interval allowed the artists of these two centers, each of them boasted a vigorous and longstanding tradition in the art of the book, to better benefit from their mutual experiences. During Jalayerid patronage, specially during the reign of Sultan Oveis (1339-1375) and Sultan Ahmad (1383-1411), who were both keen supporters of poets and scholars, this merger of experiences led to the emergence of a purified style of painting at the Jalayerid court in Baghdad. In fact contacts between the schools of Shiraz and Baghdad in the second half of the 14th century and the transfer of the artistic experiences through the artists of the school of Tabriz to the Jalayerid court deeply affected the development of later schools of art, including that of Timurid painting. The most mentioned artworks here were made by Joneid, who masterfully combined the heritage of the Shiraz school with the experience of the artists of Tabriz, producing superb works in the late 14th century, including the illustrations of Khaju-ye Kermani’s Divan, created in 1397. The works of Joneid and Khajeh Abd-ol-Hayy, another painter active at Sultan Ahmad Jalayer’s court, may be considered to have paved the way for the development of the school of Heart.
The extent and the merger of the experiences of the artists belonging to three major schools of art (Shiraz, Baghdad and Tabriz) in the Jalayerid period contributed to the foundation of Timurid art and the emergence of the highly regarded school of Herat may be measured by the personal notes of the 16th century copyist and painter, Doost Mohammad Govashani while introducing Ahmad mussa as the developer and promoter of Persian painting under Abu-Saeed Khodabandeh, to whom he attributes the Abu-saeed Nameh, Kelileh-va-Demneh, Meraj Nameh and Tarikh-e Changizi, he notes that Amir Dowlatyar and Shams-o-Din were his pupils during Sultan Ovis Jalayers rule in Baghdad. He then elaborates on Shams-o-Din’s tutorship under Khajeh Abdol Hayy. After Timure’s conquests and fall of Baghdad, besides working at Sultan Ahmad’s court, Shams-o-Din joined Timur’s camp at Samarqand where he began promoting his style of painting and that of his masters ( the heritage of the school of Shiraz, Tabriz and Baghdad) before turning to teaching students notably Pir-Ahmad Baghshomali, who joined Shahrokh’s court in Herat after Timur’s death and was active in Baysonqor-Mirza’s (1400-1435) workshop until his death at the age of fifty. In preparation of a new library and workshop in Herat, Baysonqor-Mirza also summoned several painters, book binders, calligraphers and illuminators from Tabriz. In this way the artistic heritage of the 14th and early 15th century schools of Baghdad, Tabriz and Shiraz enabled the painting school of Herat to flourish.

Homay & Homayun, Khajuye Kermani’s Divan – 14th Century

Khajuye Kermani’s Divan – 14th Century

The Shiraz School of painting in the 15th century

The path toward the revival of the Persian school of shiraz, which occurred in the second half of the 15th century, was paved during it’s first half, when Timur’s sons, Eskandar sultan (1410-1415) and Ibrahim Sultan (1415-1434) Governed Fars. After Timur’s death and Shahrokh accession in Herat, these two princes, both keen patrons of artists and writers, successively ruled Fars. Fortunately, like many other descendants of Timur, they were captivated by the culture, and immersed themselves in Persian culture and arts. Painting and book design acquired great esteem in their courts. The illustrations of one of the most important manuscripts prepared in 1411 for Eskandar Sultan (Jong-e-Eskandar Sultan) and those of a Shahnameh prepared after him for Shahrokh’s son, Ibrahim Sultan, are the most significant products of the Shiraz school of painting in the first half of the 15th century.
Some artists active at the court of these two princes had come to Shiraz from Samarqand and Herat, contributing their experiences to the local school of art. As a result, a greater maturity was in perceptible in this city’s painting of the first half of the 15th century. Works produced during this period display more precise symmetrical composition, more refined landscaping and better relationship between the text areas and pictorial elements and the use of decorative elements. The masterfully designed characters and refined silhouetting of rocks adds to their refinement.
The characteristics of the school of Shiraz at its peak during the second half of the 15th century are best represented in the illustrations of a Khavaran-Nameh dated 1478. The major part of this manuscript is preserved at the Golestan Palace Museum in Tehran.

Khavaran-Nameh (The book of the east)-1476 Ce.

Herat School and the Timurid period

Persian miniature painting of the 15th century is inextricably linked with the name of Herat and is known as the Timurid School of painting. Timur’s son, Shahrokh, had been appointed governor of Khorasan, Sistan, Ray and Mazandaran. In 1405 after Timur’s death, he succeeded on the throne in Herat and ruled until 1447. Although initially faced with feuds and rebellions among provincial governors, he eventually secured his rule over all Persia and Transoxiana. He devoted considerable energy to the development of Herat and other cities, thereby providing an opportunity for the school of Herat to flourish.
A manuscript created for Shahrokh around 1425 was Majma-al-tavarikh, its surviving pages are unfortunately scattered today. Several pages of this manuscript are preserved at the Reza Abbasi Museum in Tehran; represent the school of Herat at the time of Shahrokh in the current exhibition. The illustrations of the Majma-al-Tavarikh are simple compositions of large aligned or opposed characters depicted on a relatively bare background topped by blue sky.
Concurrently with Shahrokh, his son Baysonqor-Mirza founded a library of his own, where he gathered the most talented painters, book binders, illuminators, and calligraphers of his time. The painters such as Hajj-Ali Mossavver, Amir-Shahi sabzevari and Seyyed Ahmad Naqqash, the book binder Qavam-o-Din Sahhaf and the renowned calligrapher Mowlana jafar Tabrizi were among the artists busy in the workshop of Baysonqor Mirza’s library.
Baysonqor Mirza was a man of letters and a calligrapher, and the workshops under his patronage greatly contributed to the progress of the school of Herat. In fact as noted above, this prosperity of the school of Herat took place under the influence, and as a natural result of the evolution of book illustration in the school of Tabriz, Baghdad and Shiraz.
The beautiful paintings of two superb manuscripts created in this period, a Kelile-va- Demneh dated 1430 and the Shahname Baysonqory, clearly show the mastery of artists active in the first half of the 15th century in Baysonqor’s workshops and the development of the school of Herat in that period.
Two other manuscripts contain illustrations which bear great importance in the study of the school of Herat in mid15th century. One is Mir-Heidar’s Meraj Nameh dated 1437 (preserved at the Bibliotheque National in Paris) All the pages of this manuscript contain illustrations whose vibrant colors and brilliant gilding make them excellent examples of the applications of the traditions of Persian pictorial art, in which the metaphoric atmosphere of Persian painting is most perceptible. The other is a Shahnameh created for another Timurid prince, and known as the Shahnameh-ye Mohammad-e Juki.
As concerns the particularities of Persian painting in the first half of the 15th century, one may say in general terms that they involve livelier, less symmetrical scenes than their contemporary counterpart produced in Shiraz. Their sophisticated colors the precise design of their human and animal characters and their attention to the reproduction of nature’s idyllic landscapes and the relationship to architectural elements constitute important achievements of the school of Herat in the second half of the 15th century, Hence this school paved the way for the paintings of Behzad and his contemporary artists to develop.
After Shahrokh’s death in the second half of the 15th century, the workshops of Herat remained idle until Sultan Hussein Bayqara’s accession in 1469, Sultan Hussein reign over Herat, which lasted until 1506, witnessed the revival of artistic and literary activities. Assisted by his erudite minister, Mir Ali-shirr Navai (1445-1501), he gathered prominent artists and men of letters at his court, creating a circle of learned and talented figures in his entourage. Among the notable figures in this circle was the greatest artist of the time Kamal-o-Din Behzad.
The brilliant art produced by this talented team in the fourth quarter of the 15th century illumined the entire body of Timuried art, to which it owes the best part of its universal recognition. Fortunately, after the Timuried period, a considerable portion of this magnificent heritage was transferred, thanks to Safavid patronage, to Tabriz, where it gave birth to the most sublime gems of Persian art.
Behzad’s style of painting and the innovations he introduced in the arts of his time influenced his contemporaries and pupils. This influence remained perceptible, alongside that of the school of Tabriz.
Although Behzad was the most famous artist of his time only a few paintings beer his distinctive signature “Amal-e al-abd Behzad”.
Persian miniature painting of the 15th century is inextricably linked with the name of Herat and is known as the Timurid School of painting. Timur’s son, Shahrokh, had been appointed governor of Khorasan, Sistan, Ray and Mazandaran. In 1405 after Timur’s death, he succeeded on the throne in Herat and ruled until 1447. Although initially faced with feuds and rebellions among provincial governors, he eventually secured his rule over all Persia and Transoxiana. He devoted considerable energy to the development of Herat and other cities, thereby providing an opportunity for the school of Herat to flourish.
A manuscript created for Shahrokh around 1425 was Majma-o-tavarikh, its surviving pages are unfortunately scattered today. Several pages of this manuscript are preserved at the Reza Abbasi Museum in Tehran; represent the school of Herat at the time of Shahrokh in the current exhibition. The illustrations of the Majma-o-Tavarikh are simple compositions of large aligned or opposed characters depicted on a relatively bare background topped by blue sky.
Concurrently with Shahrokh, his son Baysonqor-Mirza founded a library of his own, where he gathered the most talented painters, book binders, illuminators, and calligraphers of his time. The painters such as Hajj-Ali Mossavver, Amir-Shahi sabzevari and Seyyed Ahmad Naqqash, the book binder Qavam-o-Din Sahhaf and the renowned calligrapher Mowlana jafar Tabrizi were among the artists busy in the workshop of Baysonqor Mirza’s library.
Baysonqor Mirza was a man of letters and a calligrapher, and the workshops under his patronage greatly contributed to the progress of the school of Herat. In fact as noted above, this prosperity of the school of Herat took place under the influence, and as a natural result of the evolution of book illustration in the school of Tabriz, Baghdad and Shiraz.
The beautiful paintings of two superb manuscripts created in this period, a Kelile-va- Demneh dated 1430 and the Shahname Baysonqory, clearly show the mastery of artists active in the first half of the 15th century in Baysonqor’s workshops and the development of the school of Herat in that period.
Two other manuscripts contain illustrations which bear great importance in the study of the school of Herat in mid15th century. One is Mir-Heidar’s Meraj Nameh dated 1437 (preserved at the Bibliotheque National in Paris) All the pages of this manuscript contain illustrations whose vibrant colors and brilliant gilding make them excellent examples of the applications of the traditions of Persian pictorial art, in which the metaphoric atmosphere of Persian painting is most perceptible. The other is a Shahnameh created for another Timurid prince, and known as the Shahnameh-ye Mohammad-e Juki.
As concerns the particularities of Persian painting in the first half of the 15th century, one may say in general terms that they involve livelier, less symmetrical scenes than their contemporary counterpart produced in Shiraz. Their sophisticated colors the precise design of their human and animal characters and their attention to the reproduction of nature’s idyllic landscapes and the relationship to architectural elements constitute important achievements of the school of Herat in the second half of the 15th century, Hence this school paved the way for the paintings of Behzad and his contemporary artists to develop.
After Shahrokh’s death in the second half of the 15th century, the workshops of Herat remained idle until Sultan Hussein Bayqara’s accession in 1469, Sultan Hussein reign over Herat, which lasted until 1506, witnessed the revival of artistic and literary activities. Assisted by his erudite minister, Mir Ali-shirr Navai (1445-1501), he gathered prominent artists and men of letters at his court, creating a circle of learned and talented figures in his entourage. Among the notable figures in this circle was the greatest artist of the time Kamal-o-Din Behzad.
The brilliant art produced by this talented team in the fourth quarter of the 15th century illumined the entire body of Timuried art, to which it owes the best part of its universal recognition. Fortunately, after the Timuried period, a considerable portion of this magnificent heritage was transferred, thanks to Safavid patronage, to Tabriz, where it gave birth to the most sublime gems of Persian art.
Behzad’s style of painting and the innovations he introduced in the arts of his time influenced his contemporaries and pupils. This influence remained perceptible, alongside that of the school of Tabriz.
Although Behzad was the most famous artist of his time only a few paintings beer his distinctive signature “Amal-e al-abd Behzad”.
Clues to the importance of Behzad’s personality and art are found in an edict issued in 1522 by the Safavid Shah Esmaeil, appointing him director of the royal library and its workshops in Tabriz and ordering their entire staff including painters, illuminators, frame draftsmen, gilders and watercolorists, to obey him.

Majma al Tavarikh – ca. 1425

Kelila va Dimna – ca. 1429

Shahnameh Baysonqori – ca. 1430

Khamsa (Quintet) of Nizami – ca. 1430

Dancing Dervishes – Divan of Hafez – ca. 1480

Mantiq al Tair (The language of the birds) of Attar – ca. 1487

The Tabriz School of painting in the Safavid period in 16th century

The Safavids accession to the power in the 16th century brought Persia religious and political unity and development, as well as historical and cultural progress and artistic prosperity. Shah Esmail (1487-1524), the grandson of Sheikh Safi-o-Din Ardebili (the founder and first monarch of this dynasty) conquered Tabriz and all Azerbaijan in 1502. Then he went on to conquer Isfahan, Yazd, Kerman, and southern Khorassan, before eventually taking control of Baghdad and Diar-Bakr in 1509. Shah Esmails main achievement after these conquests was his cleansing of eastern Persia of all Uzbek presence in 1511. Then he launched a campaign towards Herat, which he soon conquered. Although some are of the opinion that, after defeating the Uzbeks, Shah Esmail had some of the artists of the workshops of Herat, including Behzad, move to Tabriz, this is quite improbable, because the stability needed for the workshops of the Safavid court to develop did not exist in Tabriz at the time. More likely, Shah Esmail kept Behzad concealed in a cave during the chaotic days of the Ottoman armies’ pillage of Tabriz in 1514 and the battle of Chaldoran, later taking him, along with several other artists, back to Herat. They remained there until 1522, before eventually moving back to Tabriz in the company of the heir to throne, Tahmasb-Mirza.
The presence of Behzad and other artists from the workshops of Herat in Tabriz, played a significant role in the development of the Tabriz school of painting in the first half of the 16th century. Behzad’s appointment to the direction of the royal library bespeaks the esteem, in which Shah Esmail held the master, as well as his desire for the royal workshops of Tabriz to flourish, and indeed, superb works were created there under Shah Tahmasb.
The Tabriz school of painting, whose illustrious artists were able to step beyond their heritage of Turkmen and Timurid art, soon gave birth to works of incomparable magnificence. In step with political changes occurring in the country, the art that took shape in this school first affected painting in Qazvin and Mashhad and then reached Herat, Isfahan Shiraz and elsewhere. The influence of Safvid art even crossed Persian frontiers and, just as Persian art had penetrated Bokhara in Timurid times, made its way into Turkey and India, whose painters went on emulating the work of Persian artists for several centuries.
More than in any other period of Persian art, paintings produced in the school of Tabriz in this era are grandiose and dazzling. They represent the peak of the mystical art of Persian artists and depict scenes which can only be the products of a spiritual view of the world. It is as thought the artists of the school of Tabriz have found the eye of their hearts open to truth concerning the real world which cannot be seen by those lacking spiritual vision. Their lively landscapes filled with lively flower bushes, tall cypresses and blossom-covered trees create metaphoric images of paradise. Their works combine forceful character design, accomplished coloring and masterful composition with a meticulous decoration involving precise architectural elements and superb geometric and vegetal patterns. Their indigo-blue skies strewn with surreal clouds, colorful birds flying among their foliage, and angels appearing on earth every now and then, adding a spiritual and poetic touch to their works, all seem to indicate that the artists of the school of Tabriz have come to perceive the spiritual and the physical worlds as inseparable.
These characteristics are visible in the most outstanding works of the school of Tabriz such as Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh and Nezami’s Khamseh prepared for King Tahmasb.

Folio from the Divan of Hafez – ca. 1531 – 1533

Folio from Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of Shah Tanmasp – ca. 1530

Folio from Shahnameh (Book of Kings) of Shah Tahmasp – ca. 1530

The Qazvin School of Painting in the second half of the 16th century

Shah Esmail II was enthroned after the death of Shah Tahmasb, However his reign lasted no more than 16 months, and he died by opium poisoning. During his brief reign many members of the royal family including three of his brothers and his cousin Ebrahim Mirza the governor of Mashhad were assassinated, therfor his accession to throne came after twenty years of detention. Despite his ill temper and brutality, he summoned several painters from Mashhad, Tabriz and Shiraz to Qazvin, entrusting them with the mission of reviving the royal library and he even commissioning a copy of the Shahnameh.
Shah Esmail II’s Shahnameh, as it is known, was as ill fated as many other masterpieces of Iranian painting. After being exhibited in the early 20th century in Paris by the art collector and dealer, Demotte, it was torn into separate 27 pages, which were sold to different buyers. A few precious pages of this Shahnameh, are kept in the Reza Abbasi Museum in Tehran.
The illustrations of this period serve to show the evolution and the continuation of the style of the masters active at Shah Tahmasb’s court and his nephew, Ebrahim-Mirza, in the Haft Owrang.
After the brief reign of Shah Esmail II and that of his blind brother, Mohammad Khodäbandeh, whose blindness probably explains his indifferent attitude towards art and painting, and also the instabilities on the country’s western and eastern borders, illustration workshops again declined, illustration painting came to a standstill, and many of the artists summoned to work at shah Esmail’s royal library in Qazvin migrated and at the same time, the artists’ shift to taking inexpensive commissions, in the absence of royal patronage, gave birth to a distinct, simpler style of design and drawing involving more popular subjects. This manner later formed the basis of the experimentation of the artists of the School of Isfahan.

Hunting Scene – Late 16th century

Folio from Shahnameh (book of Kings) – ca. 1576 – 1577

The school of Isfahan in the 17th century

At the end of Mohammad Khodabandeh’s reign, Abbas-Mirza (the future Shah Abbas the Great), then aged 17 and governor of Herat, came to Qazvin and seized the throne. Shah Abbas I reigned some 42 years, until 1629. He was a keen admirer of painting, architecture and urban planning. Shah Abbas immediately appointed Sadeq-Beig Afshar (an accomplished poet and a skilled painter) director of the royal library.
In the early 17th century, the capital was transferred from Qazvin to Isfahan. Artists active in Qazvin and other important cities began migrating towards Isfahan, which became the country’s center of artistic activities. Painting workshops flourished and in addition to book illustration, wall-painting became popular in the decoration of palaces and mansions. Increased commercial and political relations with European countries and India, along with the transfer of the Armenians of Jolfa to Isfahan, enabled some features of western painting to find their way into Iranian art. Some wall paintings executed in royal palaces near the end of Shah Abbas’ reign, as well as paintings executed in the same period, clearly show the influence of European painting styles. Records also exist of European painters working at the court in Isfahan, including several Dutch painters, such as Lucas van Hesveld and Jean le Hollandais, as well as a painter by the name of Jules, who was born in Greece and grew up in Italy. According to Figueroa, the Spanish Ambassador to the court of Shah Abbas, Jules executed wall paintings in one of Shah Abbas palaces in 1618. A number of foreign artists, including Philippe Angel and Lokar, sent by the East Indian Company to teach drawing to the Shah, also worked at the court in Isfahan under Shah Abbas II.
During the 17th century, the costly arts of the book were supported exclusively by the court. Wall paintings and single page works of art were also in demand, commissioned by rich merchants and dignitaries as well as by the court.
This popularity encouraged the production of inexpensive single-page paintings, which artists created using less paint or in the form of succinct sketches. A few leafy branches or colorless cloud outlines adorned the backgrounds of these paintings, whose subjects consisted of portraits of princes, noblemen or young men or couples depicted standing or sitting. This trend caused portrait painting to prosper and greater attention to be paid to the anatomy and proportions of the human body.
The most renowned figure among the multitude of painters active in this period was Reza Abbasi. Yet, despite extensive scholarly studies carried out in this regard, his personality remains more or less obscure. One reason for this uncertainty is that several artists by the same name, or with the same signature, have existed at different times. Moreover, Qazi Ahmad’s description, in his Golestan-e Honar, of a painter named Aqa-Reza, who was so infatuated with wrestling that he abandoned painting and was banned from the court, further added to this ambiguity. This painter was the son of the talented portraitist Mowlana Ali-Asghar Kashani, who had been admitted to the court of Shah ‘Abbas I when only a youth and later been given the title Reza Mossavvar-e Khasseh. In any case, the illustrious Reza Abbasi signed his works “Raqam- e Kamineh Reza Abbasi,” as can be seen on his paintings after 1020 AH. Reza Abbasi’s style tends towards reproducing nature and recording the natural motions and postures of his characters in a simple, fluid manner. His sketching relies on smooth sinuous lines of the brush or the reed pen, and his pen strokes emulate the curvatures of the shekasteh nastaliq script. Reza Abbasi’s style was emulated by his pupils into the early 17th century. Following his working methods and sketching style, his numerous disciples developed his art into a purified style which became predominant in the Isfahan School of Painting. Hence, the School of Isfahan has always been also known as the School of Reza Abbasi. Moin Mossavver, one of master’s pupils who remained most faithful to his style, has left behind a portrait of Reza Abbasi, on which he has recorded his date of death as 1634.
The outset of the 18th century saw political and social turmoil resulting from the inept rule of the corrupt and weak monarchs who came to power after Shah Abbas II. In the absence of traditional royal patronage, crude, unsophisticated works began replacing the beautiful and refined masterpieces of the past. Shah Abbas II’s successor, Shah Solayman, who ruled from 1666 to 1693, was a vile and violent drunkard. He was succeeded by his son, Shah Soltan Hossein, who reigned until 1722. The reign of this weak monarch, who became weary of running the country’s affairs, led to utter chaos. Rebellion spread among warlords, and Safavid rule eventually came to an end under the assaults of Afghan hordes. Thereafter, until the early Qajar period, even though some painters active from late Safavid to mid Zand days were still alive and busy training pupils who were to found the Zand School of Painting, no notable works were created that have survived.