The Persian painter Kamal al-Din Bihzad was known as "the wonder of the age" (Roxburgh, Persian 179). Not much known about his life, but still Bizhad is considered one of the two greatest Persian painters of all time, second only to the legndary Mani (Bahari 16). He was called by court chroniclers of the Safavids, Ottomans, and Mughals the "Unique One of the Age" or "Master of the Age." These kinds of titles were not something royal writers of the three greatest powers of sixteenth-century Islamic Asia bestowed lightly. (Barry133) Why is Bihzad so highly praised? What properties of his work make his paintings so appealing? What characteristics of his style and techniques raise Bihzad above all other Persian painters?
There are four distinct categories of Bihzads work including: portraitts or events from life, depiction of historical events (with imaginative interpretations), book illustrations, and double page illustrations of imaginary scenes. (Bahari 47) The two masters that had the most influence on his art were Amir Ruhallah Mirak Khurasani, who wove fine detail and illumination in his work, and Mawlana Wali Allah whose style was very expressive with delicate brushwork. (Roxburgh, Persian 45) Mirak was Bihzad's adoptive father and teacher (Roxburgh, Persian 222). It is only fitting that such a relationship would have the egreatest impact on Bhizad's art. Two Antelopes and Two Lynx (fig. 1) is great evidence of the influence Wali had on Bihzad. The twisty tree is basically a copy of a tree from a previous work by Wali (Bahari 54). Bihzad grew up during the mid-fifteenth-century conflict fought between rival princes over the empire of Shah Rukh. Some scholars believe Bihzad's work often reflects the violence he saw. (Barry...
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Information from the textbook and Hays’s article help illuminate the events depicted and their significance in culture and art of the New Kingdom, and how the style ties into the art of the time.
Kleiner, Fred, Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History, Fourteenth Edition The Middle Ages, Book B (Boston: Wadsworth, 2013), 348.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA as it is commonly known, is among the world’s largest art collections in North America, and to be specific enough the most prevalent artwork in the western United States (Compton 165). This massive art museum has a collection of over 100,000 artworks, which extends from the ancient times to present days (Gilbert and Mills 174). These collections, which are mainly from Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin-America and America itself, are grouped into several departments within the museums buildings, depending on the region, culture, media, and time period. This paper analyzes the different genres of art and explains the main features that make the Islamic artworks distinguish themselves as historic masterpieces, by using stylistic and interpretive analysis methods.
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Bihzad has placed strong emphasis on the complexity of the palace’s architecture which he has adorned with colorful ornaments and emblazoned with gold. Each room is decorated with rugs and tiles featuring complex floral and asymmetrical patterns that cover each chamber from floor to ceiling. The palace appears to be three stories tall and features a balcony on the left and a zigzagging staircase on the right. The asymmetrical style of these two architectural features gives the impression of the work being 3-dimensional ...
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The question arises to many historians that when did this work originated. It has been said that it was originated in Persia in pre-Islamic time period and then later translated into Arabic. The Norton Anthology of World MasterPieces states:
Fleming, Sean Michael. "Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia." Library Journal 15 Feb. 2006
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...made him highly recognized among all the Islamic philosophers. He is, indeed, regarded as the most important Islamic philosopher.
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