The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925 - Memoirs of a Gay:sha
The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925 - Memoirs of a Gay:sha
The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925 - Memoirs of a Gay:sha
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Brooldyn Museum <strong>of</strong> Art BMA<br />
Royal Persian Paintings:<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> <strong>Epoch</strong> <strong>1785</strong>-<strong>1925</strong><br />
--<br />
I
Royal Persian Paintings: <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Qajar</strong> <strong>Epoch</strong> <strong>1785</strong>-<strong>1925</strong> is made<br />
possible in part by the National<br />
Endowment for the Humanities,<br />
as well as by Massoumi5 and<br />
Fereidoun Soudavar in memory<br />
<strong>of</strong> their sons Alireza and<br />
Mohammad. Major support is<br />
provided by <strong>The</strong> Hagop Kevorkian<br />
Fund, National Endowment for<br />
the Arts, <strong>The</strong> Rockefeller<br />
Foundation, the Family <strong>of</strong> the<br />
late Eskandar Aryeh, and Hashem<br />
Khosrovani. Additional support is<br />
provided by the Museum's Asian<br />
Art Council, Afsaneh Al-e<br />
Mohammad Dabashi, Mr. and<br />
Mrs. Dara Zargar, Elizabeth S.<br />
Ettinghausen, and the Patrons <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Qajar</strong> Gala. An indemnity has<br />
been granted by the Federal<br />
Council on the Arts and the<br />
Humanities.<br />
Planning and research for the<br />
exhibition were supported by the<br />
National Endowment for the<br />
Humanities, <strong>The</strong> Hagop<br />
Kevorkian Fund, and the<br />
Mar<strong>sha</strong>ll and Marilyn R. Wolf<br />
Foundation. Funds for the cata-<br />
logue were provided through a<br />
publications endowment created<br />
by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor<br />
Foundaiion and <strong>The</strong> Andrew W.<br />
Mellon Foundation.<br />
This gallery guide has been made<br />
possible by a gdt <strong>of</strong> Elizabeth S.<br />
Ettinghausen in memory <strong>of</strong><br />
Richard Ettinghausen.<br />
Above: Atlributed to Mirza Baba. Two<br />
Ifw.em Girls. Iran, circa 1811-14. Oil on<br />
canvas. Collection <strong>of</strong> the Royal Asiatic<br />
Society. London, 01.002<br />
,<br />
Brooklyn Museum <strong>of</strong> Art<br />
October 23,1998 January<br />
1 24,1999<br />
I<br />
Royal Persian Paintings: <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Qajar</strong> <strong>Epoch</strong> <strong>1785</strong>-<strong>1925</strong> is the first<br />
major museum exhibition to<br />
examine the visual arts <strong>of</strong> Iran's<br />
<strong>Qajar</strong> dynasty. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> era fol-<br />
lowed the Safavid period, a golden<br />
age <strong>of</strong> Persian art and culture, and<br />
preceded the emergence <strong>of</strong> mod-<br />
em Iran. Under <strong>Qajar</strong> rule Iran<br />
was transformed from a tribal-<br />
based confederacy to a centralized<br />
monarchy <strong>sha</strong>ped by European<br />
influences. <strong>The</strong> rise <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Qajar</strong><br />
dynasty marked the beginning <strong>of</strong><br />
an era <strong>of</strong> relative political stability<br />
in which patronage <strong>of</strong> the arts<br />
flourished.<br />
<strong>The</strong> major artistic achievement <strong>of</strong><br />
the <strong>Qajar</strong> epoch was the flower-<br />
ing <strong>of</strong> a tradition <strong>of</strong> figural paint-<br />
ing rarely seen in the Islamic<br />
world. <strong>The</strong> wide use <strong>of</strong> the<br />
human figure in a variety <strong>of</strong><br />
media, in boih miniature and<br />
monumental scale, was an anom-<br />
aly in a culture that generally<br />
forbids human representation.<br />
In Iran, however, there was a her-<br />
itage <strong>of</strong> figural painting and sculp-<br />
ture associated with royalty dating<br />
back to antiquity. Although much<br />
<strong>of</strong> this legacy had been destroyed<br />
or driven underground with the<br />
Royal Perslan Palntlngs:<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> <strong>Epoch</strong> 178!5-<strong>1925</strong><br />
advent <strong>of</strong> Islam in 641 A.D., the<br />
figural tradition continued in<br />
small-scale book illustration, met-<br />
alwork, and ceramics.<br />
During the <strong>Qajar</strong> regime, a long-<br />
dormant tradition <strong>of</strong> figural wall<br />
painting reemerged. Iran's interac-<br />
tion with the West also intensified,<br />
and <strong>Qajar</strong> painting was reinvigo-<br />
rated by European painting con-<br />
ventions. <strong>The</strong> major themes <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>Qajar</strong> painting-royalty, women,<br />
and religious subjects-vividly<br />
reflect the critical political and<br />
social changes that occurred dur-<br />
ing the era.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Safavid Legacy<br />
<strong>The</strong> art and culture <strong>of</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> Iran<br />
evolved as well from traditions<br />
established during the Safavid<br />
period (1501-1722), when inter-<br />
national trade, particularly the<br />
export <strong>of</strong> raw silk to Europe,<br />
brought great prosperity to Iran.<br />
Painting and architecture thrived<br />
under the Safavids.<br />
For centuries, elegantly copied<br />
and sumptuously illustrated<br />
Qur'ans and poetic manuscripts<br />
had been the principal channels<br />
<strong>of</strong> Persian artistic expression. <strong>The</strong><br />
manuscript pictured here (fig. 1)
embodies the features fundamen-<br />
tal to this style <strong>of</strong> art; it illus-<br />
trates a poetic subject (an episode<br />
from the Khamseh, or Quintet, <strong>of</strong><br />
the great Persian poet Nizami).<br />
Fig. 1: Artist unknown. Shirin<br />
Examines Khusraw's Portrait (detail).<br />
Detached folio from a manuscript <strong>of</strong><br />
theKhamseh <strong>of</strong> Nizami. Iran, late 15th<br />
century. Opaque watercolor, ink, mica,<br />
and gold on paper, mounted on board.<br />
S1986.140, Arthur M. SacWer Gallery,<br />
Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian<br />
Unrestricted Trust hnds, Smithsonian<br />
Collection Acquisition Program, and Dr.<br />
Arthur M. Sackler<br />
Fig. 2: 'Ali Quli Bayg Jabbadar (active<br />
1657-1716). Presumed Portrait <strong>of</strong> Louis<br />
XIV in Anor. Isfahan, circa 1660-90.<br />
Opaque watercolors and gold-sprin-<br />
kling. MA2478, MusBe National des Arts<br />
Asiatiques-Guimet, Paris<br />
<strong>The</strong> artist has attempted not to<br />
represent the natural world but<br />
to convey an ideal world <strong>of</strong> beau-<br />
ty and luxury through vibrant<br />
color, harmonious composition,<br />
and two-dimensional space.<br />
By the seventeenth century, how-<br />
ever, Persian artists had begun to<br />
create single-page paintings that<br />
stand alone rather than illustrat-<br />
ing a text in a manuscript. This<br />
new mode <strong>of</strong> painting was influ-<br />
enced by the Western artworks<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered by European diplomats<br />
and traders to the Persian court.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Persian watercolor <strong>of</strong> Louis<br />
XIV illustrated here (fig. 2) uses.<br />
both European prints and<br />
European oil paintings as models.<br />
<strong>The</strong> artist, Xli Quli Bayg<br />
Jabbadar, has clearly mastered<br />
many European stylistic tech-<br />
niques: he creates a sense <strong>of</strong> deep<br />
space and uses modeling to make<br />
the figure look three-dimension-<br />
al. He also adopts the subtler,<br />
more naturalistic palette pre-<br />
ferred by European artists.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> Era<br />
<strong>The</strong> Safavid dynasty came to a<br />
disastrous end in 1722, when<br />
Afghan tribes laid siege to the<br />
capital city, Isfahan, lulling<br />
eighty thousand people. In <strong>1785</strong>,<br />
after a long period <strong>of</strong> political<br />
unrest in which numerous tribal<br />
chiefs vied for power, the <strong>Qajar</strong>s,<br />
led by the relentless warlord Aqa<br />
Muhammad Khan <strong>Qajar</strong>,
emerged victorious. Having laid<br />
the foundation for a stable<br />
dynasty, Aqa Muhammad Khan<br />
passed the throne to his nephew,<br />
Fath 'Ali Shah (fig. 3), who<br />
reigned from 1798 to 1834.<br />
Fath 'Mi Shah presided over the<br />
flowering <strong>of</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> visual arts. He<br />
commissioned life-size paintings<br />
in unprecedented numbers and<br />
ordered sun~ptuous court regalia<br />
embellished with figural and narrative<br />
scenes, such as the enameled<br />
gold dish shown here (fig. 4),<br />
adorned with the Persian royal<br />
insignia <strong>of</strong> the lion and sun.<br />
Perhaps more important, Fath<br />
'Ali Shah stabilized the empire<br />
and ensured the success <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Qajar</strong> dynasty by fathering some<br />
two hundred children, leaving<br />
behind a vast network <strong>of</strong> descen-<br />
dants to govern after his death.<br />
However, it was also during his<br />
reign that Iran found itself in a<br />
struggle with Russia over control<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Caucasus region. In two<br />
wars, Iran lost valuable territory<br />
along its norlhwest border. <strong>The</strong><br />
second war, ending in 1828, left<br />
the country almost bankrupt.<br />
Fig. 3: Mihr 'Ali (active 1790-1815).<br />
Portrait <strong>of</strong> Path Xli Shah Standing. Iran,<br />
dated A.II. 1224/~.u. 1809-10. Oil on<br />
canvas. VR-1107, State Hermitage<br />
Museum, Saint Petersburg<br />
That Irar- .--- .--anaged to maintain<br />
its identity even after its<br />
conquest by Muslim Arabs in the<br />
seventh century was partly owing<br />
to its long and revered history <strong>of</strong><br />
kingship, which extended back to<br />
antiquity. In his patronage <strong>of</strong><br />
court poetry and art, Fath 'Ali<br />
Shah invoked this tradition. He<br />
used the arts primarily as a<br />
means to convey his power, glorify<br />
the <strong>Qajar</strong> dynasty, and unify<br />
Iran.<br />
Early <strong>Qajar</strong> painting discarded<br />
European conventions and<br />
revived indigenous monumental<br />
painting and rock-carving tradi-<br />
Fig. 4: Muhammad Ja'far (active<br />
1800-1830). Dish with the Royal<br />
Iranian Emblem <strong>of</strong> the Lion and Sun.<br />
Tehran, dated A.H. 1233/~.~. 1817-18.<br />
Enameled gold. Courtesy <strong>of</strong> the Board<br />
<strong>of</strong> Trustees <strong>of</strong> the Victoria and Albert<br />
Museum, London
tions. In the portrait <strong>of</strong> Fath 'Ali<br />
Shah illustrated here (see again<br />
fig. 3), the rigid, hntal pose<br />
recalls ancient rock reliefs depicting<br />
pre-Islamic Pemian kings.<br />
<strong>The</strong> ruler's @~&sive 'exprwion<br />
and dazzling@$ however,<br />
reflect th@,awsional treatment<br />
<strong>of</strong> m&@$=~tdlustration<br />
enlarged to &'&&kk~<br />
Such works wem meant to<br />
impress Western monarchs with<br />
the opulence, and power <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Persian em~ire, and this portrait<br />
was probably commissioned as a<br />
gift for a Russian ruler. Fath 'Ali<br />
Shah's interest in participating in<br />
the produbtion <strong>of</strong> his image is<br />
revealed by an inscription in the<br />
lower left-hand corner which<br />
states that he inspected the<br />
painting in person during its production<br />
and approved it "without<br />
any changes."<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong>s believed that portraits<br />
could represent the ruler in an<br />
almost supernatural way. Portraits<br />
<strong>of</strong> Fath 'Ali Shah and his succes-<br />
sors were treated with the rever-<br />
ence accorded to the monarch<br />
himself when they were paraded<br />
in regional processionals and cer-<br />
emonies or presented as diplo-<br />
matic @.<br />
If Fath 'Ali Shah was the principal<br />
catalyst for the early, revival style<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> painting, his grandson<br />
Nasir al-Din Shah, who reigned<br />
from1848 to1896, played an<br />
equally significant role in the evo-<br />
lution <strong>of</strong> Persian painting by act-<br />
ing as synthesizer and transmitter<br />
<strong>of</strong> European artistic traditions.<br />
Although Iran's reformers<br />
approached modern Western cul-<br />
ture with caution, fearful that the<br />
West's seductive material riches<br />
would lead to imperialistic inter-<br />
vention, under Nasir al-Din Shah<br />
Iran did adopt several Western<br />
innovations that directly affected<br />
the creation and dissemination <strong>of</strong><br />
art. <strong>The</strong> country's first institution<br />
<strong>of</strong> higher learning based on<br />
European models, the Dar al-<br />
Funun, trained artists in the e<br />
European academic tradition. <strong>The</strong><br />
lithographed newspaper provided<br />
a new forum for disseminating<br />
images. And as Iran embraced<br />
photography, artists began to use<br />
photographs as models for their<br />
paintings, making their works<br />
more lifelike. Invigorated by these<br />
innovations, <strong>Qajar</strong> painting<br />
reached its second florescence.<br />
Like his grandfather, Nasir al-Din<br />
Shah used art to disseminate his !<br />
dynastic image. <strong>The</strong> small-scale<br />
portrait illustrated here (fig. 5)<br />
reveals how he attempted to<br />
Fig. 5: Bahram Kirman<strong>sha</strong>hi (active<br />
1860s-1880s). Nasir &Din Shah Sated<br />
in a European Chak. Tehran,.dated A.H.<br />
1274/~.~. 1857. Oil on copper. MA0 776, - I<br />
Mw% du Louvre, Paris, section<br />
Islamique<br />
'
identify himself with both estab-<br />
lished cultural values and the<br />
currents <strong>of</strong> modernity. His regalia<br />
is as dazzling as Fath 'Ali Shah's,<br />
but his pose <strong>of</strong> casual elegance-<br />
he is seated on a European-style<br />
chair-is unprecedented for<br />
Persian royal imagery and reflects<br />
nineteenth-century European<br />
portrait conventions. <strong>The</strong> unusu-<br />
al medium <strong>of</strong> oil on copper cap-<br />
tures the luminosity and highly<br />
textured surface <strong>of</strong> European oil<br />
paintings.<br />
Ultimately, Nasir al-Din Shah's<br />
contacts with the West proved his<br />
downfall. By awarding lucrative<br />
commercial monopolies to foreign<br />
investors he sowed the seeds <strong>of</strong><br />
popular revolt. He was assassinat-<br />
ed by an antiroyalist activist in<br />
1896. At the turn <strong>of</strong> the twentieth<br />
century, the Iranian people began<br />
to oppose the <strong>Qajar</strong> monarchy.<br />
Several rulers followed each other<br />
quicldy as the dynasty began to<br />
crumble.<br />
<strong>The</strong> portrait illustrated here (fig.<br />
6) <strong>of</strong> Nasir al-Din Shah's son and<br />
successor, Muzaffar al-Din Shah,<br />
who reigned from 1896 to 1907,<br />
contrasts strikingly with earlier<br />
royal portraits. <strong>The</strong> artist has<br />
made no attempt to display the<br />
splendor <strong>of</strong> the ruler's court or<br />
accentuate the richness <strong>of</strong> his<br />
regalia. <strong>The</strong> <strong>sha</strong>h looks unhealthy<br />
and exhausted, standing only<br />
with the aid <strong>of</strong> a walking stick-.a<br />
sublle allusion perhaps to the frail<br />
state <strong>of</strong> the government during<br />
his rule. By the end <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Qajar</strong><br />
period, royal imagery had evolved<br />
from timeless, idealized icons to<br />
academic portraits influenced by<br />
European tradition.<br />
Fig. 6. 'Abd al-Husayn (Sani' Humayun)<br />
(1859-1921). Portrait <strong>of</strong> Muzaflar aal-Din<br />
Shah and Premier Xbd al-Majid Mirza,<br />
2yrn al-Dawleh. Tehran, early 20th cen-<br />
tury. Oil on canvas. Private collection<br />
Fig. 7. Attributed to Ahmad (active<br />
1820s-1830s). F mle Acrobat. Tehran,<br />
second or third quarter <strong>of</strong> the 19th an-<br />
tury. Oil on canvas. 719-1876, Lent by<br />
[lie Board <strong>of</strong> Trustees <strong>of</strong> the Victoria<br />
and Albert Museum, London
Representations <strong>of</strong> Women<br />
Traditionally, women in the<br />
Islamic world have rarely<br />
appeared in public unveiled.<br />
However, unveiled women were<br />
frequently depicted in Persian<br />
manuscript illustrations. During<br />
the early <strong>Qajar</strong> period, the con-<br />
text <strong>of</strong> paintings <strong>of</strong> women<br />
increasingly shifted from the pri-<br />
vate world <strong>of</strong> the manuscript to<br />
the public realm <strong>of</strong> palaces and<br />
pavilions. Decorum did not per-<br />
mit portraits <strong>of</strong> virtuous women<br />
or female members <strong>of</strong> the royal<br />
family to be displayed in public<br />
areas. <strong>The</strong>refore, the only repre-<br />
sentations <strong>of</strong> women deemed<br />
suitable were enlarged versions <strong>of</strong><br />
the idealized female types devel-<br />
oped for manuscript illustrations:<br />
women in European dress, musi-<br />
cians, dancers, and acrobats.<br />
Fernale representations such as<br />
the one pictured here (fig. 7)<br />
functioned as elements in the lav-<br />
ish decorative programs <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ruler's palace, little different from<br />
other royal accouterments.<br />
Late nineteenth-century painting<br />
conveys a very different image <strong>of</strong><br />
Persian women. In contrast to the<br />
entertainers and odalisques <strong>of</strong><br />
Fig. 8. Isn~a'il Jalayir (d. circa<br />
1868-1873). Lndies around a Samovar.<br />
Tehran, third quarter <strong>of</strong> the 19th century.<br />
Oil on canvas. P.56-1941, Victoria<br />
and Albert Museum, London<br />
earlier eras, the women in Ladies<br />
around a Samovar (fig. 8) are<br />
modestly clothed and covered in<br />
veils. <strong>The</strong> portrait <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Qajar</strong><br />
princess Taj al-Saltaneh<br />
(1884-1936) illustrated here (fig.<br />
9) reflects how women's roles and<br />
aspirations continued to change.<br />
Taj is depicted as a "modern"<br />
rincess. In fact, she was one <strong>of</strong><br />
he founding members <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Society for the Emancipation <strong>of</strong><br />
Women and the first Iranian<br />
woman to write her autobiogra-<br />
- phy, a work replete with insights<br />
into the plight <strong>of</strong> women living in<br />
the confines <strong>of</strong> the royal harem.<br />
Religious Imagery<br />
If Islamic culture generally<br />
approaches representations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
human figure with great caution,<br />
this is particularly true with<br />
regard to the painting <strong>of</strong> religious<br />
subjects. Nevertheless, a vigorous<br />
school <strong>of</strong> religious painting in a<br />
~o~ular . - fimral vernacular<br />
emerged i; Iran during the late<br />
nineteenth century.<br />
<strong>The</strong> development <strong>of</strong> religious<br />
l- painting coincided with-the popu-<br />
larization <strong>of</strong> the ta'zieh, a type <strong>of</strong><br />
passion play associated with the<br />
Muslim sect <strong>of</strong> Shi'ism, Iran's<br />
state religion since the sixteenth<br />
century. <strong>The</strong> ta'zieh relates the<br />
story <strong>of</strong> the Battle <strong>of</strong> Karbala, a<br />
tragedy at the heart <strong>of</strong> Shi'ite<br />
belief that commemorates the<br />
martyrdom <strong>of</strong> Imam Husayn (the<br />
third Shi'ite imam, or spiritual<br />
guide). Paintings <strong>of</strong> scenes from<br />
the narrative were nailed to the<br />
wall as backdrops to recitations <strong>of</strong><br />
the ta'zieh, and the narrator<br />
would point to each relevant event<br />
as he told the story. Significantly<br />
challenging Islamic views on fig-<br />
ural representation, these paint-<br />
ings reflect an innovative instance<br />
in the history <strong>of</strong> Persian painting<br />
in which religious subjects were<br />
produced and displayed for the<br />
public at large for the first time.<br />
Fig. 9. Artist unknown. Porh-ait <strong>of</strong><br />
Princess Taj al-Saltaneh (1884-1936)<br />
(detail) . Tehran, circa 1910. Oil on can-<br />
vas. Collection <strong>of</strong> Mohammad and<br />
Najmieh Batmanqlij, Washington, D.C.
--Csnhny<br />
Fueled by anti-imperialist senti-<br />
ments and frustration with the<br />
<strong>Qajar</strong> monarchy, which was<br />
viewed as corrupt and ineffective,<br />
the Iranian people revolted and<br />
established a parliament and<br />
new constitution in 1906. <strong>The</strong><br />
constitutional movement gave<br />
rise in the press to a lively tradi-<br />
tion <strong>of</strong> caricature, an art form<br />
diametrically opposed to the<br />
imperial grandeur <strong>of</strong> the painting<br />
<strong>of</strong> the early nineteenth century.<br />
<strong>The</strong> cartoon reproduced here (fig.<br />
10) communicates the nationalist<br />
Iranians' dramatic reaction to<br />
European imperialism and for-<br />
eign domination. It also illus-<br />
trates the ways in which Western<br />
technology was used to express<br />
anti-Western sentiments and pre-<br />
sents a fitting conclusion to an<br />
exhibition that charts the evolu-<br />
tion <strong>of</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong> painting from an<br />
indigenous art form to one that<br />
increasmgly reflected European<br />
conventions.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Qajar</strong>s had their final down-<br />
fall when Riza Khan, a military<br />
leader, deposed the last <strong>Qajar</strong><br />
ruler in 1921 and established the<br />
Pahlavi dynasty in <strong>1925</strong>. This<br />
dynasty endured until 1979,<br />
when it was overthrown by the<br />
Islamic movement led by<br />
Ayatollah Khomeini.<br />
Many <strong>of</strong> the artworks gathered<br />
together for Royal Persian<br />
Paintings were dispersed to<br />
Russia and Europe in the nine-<br />
teenth century. In reassembling<br />
them, the exhibition demon-<br />
strates the remarkable thematic<br />
range and visual splendor <strong>of</strong> an<br />
era <strong>of</strong> Persian painting that has<br />
long been neglected. Using the<br />
human figure as its central focus,<br />
Royal Persian Paintings illumi-<br />
nates the human face <strong>of</strong> a cul-<br />
ture that has-at least to the<br />
West-been concealed for the<br />
past two decades.<br />
Dr. Layla S. Diba<br />
Hagop Kevorkian Curator <strong>of</strong><br />
Islamic Art<br />
Pig 10: Mirza 'Ali. Asian Rulers<br />
Represented as Dogs (detail). From the<br />
newspaper Kashkul (Tehran), no. 29<br />
(1907). Lithograph. Princeton University<br />
Library, Princeton, New Jersey<br />
Right: Attributed to Abu '1 Hasan<br />
Ghaffari. Imam Quli Khan (detail).<br />
Tehran, circa 1855-66. Oil on canvas.<br />
Hashem Khosrovani <strong>Qajar</strong> Collection