Reza Abbasi
Reza Abbasi | |
---|---|
Born | 1565 |
Died | 1635 (aged 69–70) Tabriz, Safavid Iran |
Family | Ali Asghar (father) |
Reza Abbasi (
Life and art
Riza was possibly born in
Unlike most earlier Persian artists, he typically signed his work, often giving dates and other details as well, though there are many pieces with signatures that scholars now reject.
His speciality, however, was the single miniature for the albums or muraqqas of private collectors, typically showing one or two figures with a lightly drawn garden background, sometimes in gold, in the style formerly used for border paintings, with individual plants dotted about on a plain background. These vary between pure pen drawings and fully painted subjects with colour throughout, with several intermediate varieties. The most typical have at least some colour in the figures, though not in the background; later works tend to have less colour. His, or his buyers', favourite subjects were idealized figures of stylishly dressed and beautiful young men. According to Barbara Brend:
The line of Riza's ink drawings has an absolute mastery conveying texture, form, movement and even personality. His coloured figures, which must often be portraits, are more restrained and lay more emphasis on the fashions of the day, the rich textiles, the carelessly draped turban, the European hat. Effete figures are often presented standing in a curved posture which accentuates their well-fed waists.[11]
The style he pioneered remained influential on subsequent generations of Persian painters; several pupils were prominent artists, including Mo'en Mosavver, who painted his portrait many decades later (illustrated at top) as well as Riza's son, Muhammed Shafi Abbasi.[12]
His earlier works were signed Aqa Risa (or Riza, Reza etc., depending on the
About the time of his return to court service, there is a considerable change in his style. "The primary colours and virtuoso technique of his early portraits give way in the 1620s to darker, earthier colours and a coarser, heavier line. New subjects only partly compensate for this disappointing stylistic development".
Sheila Canby's 1996
Gallery
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Reclining woman, 1595
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Two Lovers, 1630
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Youth kneeling and holding out a wine cup
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Prince Muhammad-Beik of Georgia by Reza Abbasi, 1620
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Cup-bearer. Miniature
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Young Portuguese
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Musician dressed as a European with viol
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Young man with a sword
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Lady with a Fan
Notes
References
- ^ Brend, 165
- ^ Grove
- ^ Titley, 108
- ^ Brend, 165-166: Grove
- ^ Canby (1996), Appendix III and passim
- ^ Canby (1996), 181, allows him four of the miniatures
- ^ Titley, 108-109, 114
- ^ Grove
- ^ Canby (2009), 176
- ^ Canby (1996), 193, items 75-93
- ^ Brend, 165-166
- ^ Grove
- ^ Titley, 114; Grove; Gray, 80-81 represents an older view
- ^ Canby (2009), 36; see also the calligrapher's biography in Encyclopedia Iranica
- ^ Grove
- ^ Grove; Brend, 165; Titley, 114. Both contemporary sources and the female scholars who dominate the study of the Persian miniature show little patience with Riza's mid-life interlude.
- ^ Titley, 114; Brend 165; Canby (2009), 36, 50
- ^ Canby (2009), 123, 179
- ^ Grove
- ^ Grove
- ^ Canby (1996), Appendices I & III
- ^ Titley, 114
Bibliography
- Brend, Barbara. Islamic art, Harvard University Press, 1991, ISBN 0-674-46866-X, 9780674468665
- "Canby (2009)",Canby, Sheila R. (ed). Shah Abbas; The Remaking of Iran, 2009, British Museum Press, ISBN 978-0-7141-2452-0
- "Canby (1996)", Canby, Sheila R, Rebellious Reformer: The Drawings and Paintings of Riza Yi-Abbasi of Isfahan, 1996, Tauris IB.
- Gray, Basil, Persian Painting, Ernest Benn, London, 1930
- "Grove" - Canby, Sheila R., Riza [Riżā; Reza; Āqā Riżā; Āqā Riżā Kāshānī; Riżā-yi ‛Abbāsī], in Oxford Art Online (subscription required), accessed 5 March 2011
- Titley, Norah M., Persian Miniature Painting, and its Influence on the Art of Turkey and India, 1983, University of Texas Press, 0292764847
External links
- Canby, Sheila R. (1995). "Riḍā ʿAbbāsī". In ISBN 978-90-04-09834-3.
- Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian
- Persian drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Abbasi