IN THE NAME OF GOD

The idea of turning to the charming “Persian Paintings” and meeting our pledges towards them is reminiscent of the exquisite atmosphere of man’s original homeland featured with the innocent and immaculate faces, while the anticipation of its observation will endow one with the patience to forbear the calamities and incongruousness of the present age of anguish with the mere hope to transcend and reach into the celestial sphere where one can eventually take a deep breath and come to rest.

The artworks currently showcased have been collected jointly by Tehran Museum of Contemporary Arts (TMCA) and Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO). The collection on show includes not only some of the golden pages of the recorded national history of art but manifests the artistic achievements of the outstanding Iranian masters of art who have succeeded in depicting the mystery of Divine creation on canvas by means of their intellectual, scientific and practical faculties. Thus the timeless heritage of their experience has been recorded in the history of mankind forever.

Ferdowsi’s Book of Kings (Shahnameh), Nezami’s Khamseh (a collection of five books in verse), Sa’di’s Golestan and Boustan, Hafiz’s Poetry Collection and even the sensational exquisite stories of “One Thousand and One Nights” inter-connect various eras of the history and express the mystery of man’s unity in terms of Islamic wisdom and the language of art.

A collection of these masterpieces and dozens of pieces of Persian Paintings dating back to Timurid and Safavid eras—a collection that manifests exalted concepts and mysteries of the realities about mankind—is now being showcased at TMCA after a long period of oblivion.

The display of the valuable artworks of prominent masters of art from the Iranian and Indian painting schools in a single exhibition undoubtedly marks a turning point and will pave the way for the future developments of Iran’s visual arts. The precious pieces of Persian Paintings currently on show include a selection of the masterpieces produced by Kamaleddin Behzad, Amin Khalil, Qavameddin, Khajeh Ghiaseddin, Mir Azod, Qasem Ali, Mozaffar Ali, Mirza Ali, Mahmoud Mozzaheb, Heidar Ali, Maqsoud, Farhad, Sultan Mohammad, Aqa Mirak, Mir Seyed Ali, Abdul-Samad, Mir Mosavvar, Abdul-Aziz, Qadimi, Reza Abbasi and Aqa Reza.

The artworks safeguarded at the archives of libraries over the past centuries are now on exhibit at TMCA and have drawn the attention of the world lovers of spiritual art. Given the high interest of the world researchers in the artworks on display, many applications have been received from foreign museums for hosting similar expositions in future.

What can be learned from the timless and unbound-in-space Persian Paintings is the way to express abstract and exalted concepts in terms of the familiar pictorial elements. Refined forms and colors, the elixir of texture and magic combination of basic elements seen from the front (instead of in perspective) create a single flat image of the great heritage of the Persian Painting.

The atrocity of raging wars, the fainting of Leili (the beloved) and Majnoun (the lover) and their collapse on the sandy desert on coming face to face, the enchanted Gnostics breaking into dance and the Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) ascension to the celestial sphere while floating in light—all reflect the reality and image of the pure heart of the artists who viewed the world, its Creator and creatures with love. Therefore, association with these artists and inspection of their art will reveal to the world the real face of this art of the present age and will unveil the true concept of contemporary art.

The secretariat of the exhibition appreciates the sincere efforts of the officials of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, Golestan Palace-Museum, Reza Abbasi Museum, Isfahan’s Chelsotoun Museum, the Islamic department of Iran’s National Museum and the library of Shahid Motahari Institute of Higher Studies. Such close cooperation once more marks the need for placing special focus on the original and rich Islamic culture of Iran.

We look forward to unveiling the essence of our national art and its development process throughout the course of Iran’s honorable, timless history in order to elevate the status of the contemporary national art by safeguarding our cultural identity.

Mohammad-Ali Rajabi
Secretary of the Exhibition on Masterpieces of Persian Paintings