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Persian Painting: Five Royal Safavid Manuscripts of the Sixteenth Century by Welch, Stuart Cary (1976) Hardcover
Welch, Stuart Cary
- GenresArt
127 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1976
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February 9, 2018
Exquisite images from a civilization ignored by the West
Mention the words "Safavi" or "Safavid" to people in the West and you will most likely get a blank stare in return, but this Iranian dynasty presided over a great cultural flowering in literature and architecture as well as in art. Stuart Cary Welch produced a beautiful introductory guide to some of the beauties of that era, taking illustrations from several famous books and collections of the 16th century height of Safavid glory. While the political history of the time in Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan (all parts of the Persian world in a cultural sense) was full of battles, massacres, sieges and sudden changes of rule-very much like Europe at the same time-the delicacy of Persian art knew no bounds. Brilliant, jewel-like colors, striking designs, and bold displays of mythical heroes touched in gold and surrounded with the miniature figures of the Persian court world appear on the pages of this book that is guaranteed to satisfy. Chinese-style rocks and trees mingle with Islamic calligraphy and Persian legends. While this book reproduces the illustrations both in full and in detail, the text is only the slightest of introductions to what can be a consuming study for any lover of art at its greatest. Readers of this book will want to look further. May I suggest Anthony Welch's two books "Artists for the Shah" and "Shah `Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan", "Persian Drawings" by B. W. Robinson, and "Persian Painting" by Basil Gray. Another related volume, a treat for anyone interested in Persian art, would be "Isfahan: Pearl of Persia" by Wilfred Blunt and W. Swan
Mention the words "Safavi" or "Safavid" to people in the West and you will most likely get a blank stare in return, but this Iranian dynasty presided over a great cultural flowering in literature and architecture as well as in art. Stuart Cary Welch produced a beautiful introductory guide to some of the beauties of that era, taking illustrations from several famous books and collections of the 16th century height of Safavid glory. While the political history of the time in Iran, Central Asia and Afghanistan (all parts of the Persian world in a cultural sense) was full of battles, massacres, sieges and sudden changes of rule-very much like Europe at the same time-the delicacy of Persian art knew no bounds. Brilliant, jewel-like colors, striking designs, and bold displays of mythical heroes touched in gold and surrounded with the miniature figures of the Persian court world appear on the pages of this book that is guaranteed to satisfy. Chinese-style rocks and trees mingle with Islamic calligraphy and Persian legends. While this book reproduces the illustrations both in full and in detail, the text is only the slightest of introductions to what can be a consuming study for any lover of art at its greatest. Readers of this book will want to look further. May I suggest Anthony Welch's two books "Artists for the Shah" and "Shah `Abbas and the Arts of Isfahan", "Persian Drawings" by B. W. Robinson, and "Persian Painting" by Basil Gray. Another related volume, a treat for anyone interested in Persian art, would be "Isfahan: Pearl of Persia" by Wilfred Blunt and W. Swan
Displaying 1 of 1 review