An Outlook on the New Art of Iran

An article by Master Jalil Ziapour, titled “An Outlook on the New Art of Iran,” published in “Art and Architecture” magazine, Year 7, Nos. 27 and 28, pp. 31 to 35, Farvardin to Mordad 1354 (March–August 1975).

Master Jalil Ziapour, the Father of Modern Iranian Painting

Quotations that “Art and Architecture” magazine selected from the text of this article and printed on its first page (p. 31):

The art of image-making, which in the Islamic period found its way into books (and to which foreigners gave the name miniature), after its peak in the Gurkanid period (in the ninth century of the Hijra), continued until the late Safavid period. Then, as a result of contact with foreigners and encountering their images, which had taken nature as a model, our artists set to work toward utilizing nature.

Young Horseman Fighting a Dragon, by Mohammad Sadeq

In past periods, nature for our artists was only a means and a pretext for expressing the intent, not the intent itself (and, so to speak, not a means of imitation and likeness-making). Our artist took what he needed from nature, and depicted together what his imagination also added to nature. Therefore, because our artist, in miniature-making, in addition to making use of nature, also added something of his own imagination to it and did not merely suffice with the imitation of nature, the value of his works was superior to nature-making and took on a surrealistic aspect, and in this same manner, student followed master. Some of the masters also, as a result of conditions, possibilities, and necessity, would start a movement, pursue a new path, and set a newer style in motion.

Certainly, these artists also made an effort in their works to be as close to nature as necessary, and quite often practiced image-making more expressively than nature. However, because between decorative works and pictorial works there exist technical differences and conceptions (with distinct thinking), our artist, due to habituation to the decorative style of his environment, adhered more to the decorative style than to purely natural images, and observed it in his image-makings. For example, the tile designs of the walls of religious buildings and the patterns of carpets have natural forms, but in a simplified manner. These simplified forms, which lack sufficient chiaroscuro and consequently lack relief, take on an ornamental aspect. Two common crafts, tile and carpet design, in our environment possess this extraordinary ornamental characteristic. In our miniatures as well, this characteristic exists. However, it also enjoys very delicate, light chiaroscuro. For this reason, they allow into the mind a sense of distance from the shallow space of the story’s setting.

Repetition in creating decorative works and the necessity of attending to two artistic crafts dependent on the economy (carpet and tilework) had nearly closed the path of pure imitation of nature to such an extent that our artist was obliged to devote his effort solely to creating ornamental works rather than imitating nature. Although coloring traversed a delicate path, and our artist dealt with the content of legendary and epic themes (which held an important place in the life of our society), and his artistic sensibilities, through inspiration, sought to ensure that colorings and designs would prove more useful and serve better for the better expression of the themes, yet how long could one continue along this path, weave oneself into oneself, and ignore the needs of the environment and the surrounding world?

Miniature, Mahmoud Javadipour

Gouache, Sohrab Sepehri

Finally, in the late Safavid period, our artist was able to turn his eyes to the outside world as well and become inclined to strive to make nature just as it is and in fact (unfortunately) imitate it, and make a copy of it. In the meantime, our other artist (that artist who had practiced the art of image-making outside its connection to professions such as the image-making work of carpets, tiles, and fabrics) did not lose the path that had greater adherence to the imitation of nature, and strove in presenting themes in a natural form that would also enjoy the subtleties of design and decorative colors. This artist now paid less attention to the repetition of colors or forms. He pulled the images out from between the pages of books and added to their expanse. Yet these forms and scenes were such as though a magnifying glass had been placed over the forms and scenes of miniatures, enlarging them with all their intricate details. Our artist, although he strove to create relief and three-dimensional space on a flat (or two-dimensional) surface and engaged in creating strong chiaroscuro, did not manage it as he ought to have, because he did not have sufficient practice in this work. Certainly no fault lay with him (and there was no cause for regret either), because our artist had for centuries engaged in creating decorative art works and was familiar with them, and had not acquired the method of natural chiaroscuro owing to a lack of need. Our artist, in utilizing nature for image-making, had applied a higher artistic consciousness and utilized nature only as a means. Therefore, he did not bind himself to the constraints of nature-making and had realized that pure nature is not capable of clarifying his desires. Except some of them.

(Exactly contrary to the artists who showed enthusiasm for nature-making or the imitation of nature).

In the era of Shah Safi, contemporary with the renowned artist (Mir Afzal Tuni), another image-maker known as “Sadeq Mosavvar” created works following nature, whose style of image-making took life and continued.

The works of foreigners, which enjoyed natural forms and the necessary techniques of chiaroscuro and perspective, were themselves another model that enchanted our image-makers to attain fully the realm of pure nature-making. Hence, our daring artists manipulated traditional work. Of course, they did not abandon flora-making and gilding. They would also sometimes cover the sky with gold so that it would speak for a golden sky. They used mountain-like autumn clouds instead of “tashi”s (clouds that were made in the manner of the artists’ work), and the mountain crests, which the effort had always been to adorn with rock wonders and heads of beasts and make into a wonderland, now the effort was to depict them without mental superfluities (and only with objective and real manifestations). Thus each work was inspired by the two grounds of nature and the utilization of tradition (so-called a mixture of old and new), and our artists, due to great attention to proportion-making, were compelled to create exact duplication, and remained far from other artistic characteristics that were once considered the core technique of art and from which they never neglected attention.

At this very time, foreign artists had brought nature-making to an end and had become aware of deeper points, and resorted to natural form-makings only for the purpose of expressing intentions, and gradually, like our past artists, recognized nature as a means of expression, not the primary goal, and gave up nature-making and pursued this purpose of theirs in diverse ways. But our artists, from the time their eyes became acquainted with the foreigners’ style of nature-making and their imitation of nature and their skill in nature-making was deemed remarkable, no longer thought of the value of their past work; and at that time when they used to make nature a means of expressing the purpose (and now foreigners were newly realizing its importance and pursuing it), our artist turned his back on this principle and became diligent in the imitation of nature.

From this point on, (from the Afsharid, Zand, and Qajar period) image-makings in larger pieces and as far as possible imitation of nature and also using the traditional style (decorations and gilding in more spacious dimensions) became customary. But alongside these kinds of works, other artists (up to the time of Kamal-ol-Molk) brought themselves closer to pure nature-making and its verbatim imitation, and furthermore, another group of artists did not abandon miniature-making in those same traditional pieces, and still pursued artistic display in the style of the Safavid era and earlier (of course it is obvious that this style and other styles such as: “the continuation of miniature in past styles”, “image-making in the realm of miniature and nature together in larger pieces”, “nature-making and its verbatim imitation” like color photography - heedless of this question as to why one must imitate nature and what the goal of this work is?) none of these three styles of work was in accord with correct artistic thought (that one ought to make nature a means and not be bound by it).

Of the three existing and customary styles among our artists, two styles, which consisted of “the tendency toward nature plus traditional art, and the other, the continuation of old miniatures”, up to the time of Kamal-ol-Molk, and also up to our time (with utmost weakness) had a greater presence, and nature-making had not yet reached anywhere. Kamal-ol-Molk and his students strove much on this path, but the world of nature-making at its origin had for some time been transformed, and new forms (far from the ordinary forms of nature) had come into being, and many “isms” had made the world of image-making a field of experience and action. With the establishment of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran (which, in contrast to the Kamal-ol-Molk Art School, engaged in the style of Impressionism) and scholarly acquaintance with the new ideas and styles of foreigners, a transformation appeared and it became necessary that, taking into account new forms (for expressing new ideas) and with a look at the authenticity of past Iranian art and seeking help from it (where our artists, at that time, utilized nature as an instrument and means of expression, and were not subordinate to, bound by, or imitators of it) a movement should emerge to offer new ways.

Composition, Massoumeh Seyhoun

Composition, Javad Hamidi

The vast transformations of life today do not leave individuals to themselves, free of thought, however ordinary they may be, and it is obvious that artists, who are readily impressionable, do not pass a moment without being influenced, and hence, involuntarily, they will be the voice of psychic fluctuations and thoughts born of occurrences. Following these circumstances, new artistic forms appear among any people. In our country too, new styles penetrated.

From 1948 the controversial style of Cubism was officially presented and found followers, and through fifteen-odd years of struggle against the traditionalists and delivering impassioned lectures and publishing magazines such as “Fighting Cock” (Khoroos Jangi), “The Cock’s Claw” (Panjeh-ye Khoroos) and “Kavir” and friendly encounters (and also malicious ones of opponents unfamiliar with the art world) and with the help of the capital’s press, new art (the true principle and goal of new art) took root. Modernists set to work, and traditionalists gradually departed along with their customary styles.

The Simurgh Coming to Rudabeh, by Mohammad Zaman

Form of the Subject, Ahmad Esfandiari

Portrait, Mehdi Vishkaei

The putting forward of the controversial style of Cubism as a quest for the new was because this style, in one respect, was geometric like traditional designs (such as carpet design and tile and fabric design), and in another respect, was a displayer of thoughts and had a way toward inward representation. In fact, this style still carried with it fragmented forms of nature, and was also heedless of pure nature, and furthermore appeared close and familiar to the artistic elements existing among our people. Thus this style seemed likely more acceptable (especially since it also had the advantage that, with its own specific design, it reflected the machine life of the present age), but this style, with all its advantages and with all its closeness to the styles existing in Iran (styles in which our artists had practiced for centuries and with which they were familiar), was not acceptable to those who wanted to forget past styles for the sake of becoming absorbed in nature. But modernists and enlightened publishers and thinkers aided this movement and gave it strength. During this time, some artists found new and acceptable ways based on the authentic styles of the past and established a relationship between the old and the new worlds, while others, by presenting so-called “modernist” works and ideas, pretended to show off and feigned modernism, and continue to do so, and this does not seem unlikely. For in every movement there are excesses and errors.

A short biography that “Art and Architecture” magazine printed on page 32, alongside the article: