Reza Abbasi
Last great master of the Persian miniature, Isfahan School.
via Wikipedia: Mohammad Reza Pahlavi · see source
Reza Abbasi (c. He spent most of his career working for Shah Abbas I and is considered the last great master of the Persian miniature, best known for his single miniatures for albums, especially single figures of beautiful youths.
- field
- Persian miniature painting
- nationality
- Persian (Safavid)
- known_for
- Single miniatures for muraqqa (albums), especially figures of beautiful youths
Lore & Background
His specialty was the single miniature for private collectors' albums, typically showing one or two figures with a lightly drawn garden background, sometimes in gold. These range from pure pen drawings to fully painted subjects. His favorite subjects were idealized figures of stylishly dressed beautiful young men. His style shifted in the 1620s to darker, earthier colors and a coarser line. He painted older men, Sufi divines, shepherds, birds, and Europeans, and sometimes satirized his subjects.
Reader's Guide
Reza Abbasi is significant as the last great master of the Persian miniature, marking the culmination of the Safavid tradition. His work reflects the shift from illustrated manuscripts to album miniatures in the Safavid period.
Did You Know?
- His works include both pure pen drawings and fully painted subjects, with intermediate varieties.
- He is not to be confused with the contemporary calligrapher Ali Riza Abbasi, who was Shah Abbas' royal librarian.
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