Reza Abbasi

Riza was possibly born in Kashan, as Āqā Riżā Kāshānī is one of the versions of his name; it has also been suggested that he was born in Mashad, where his father, the miniature artist Ali Asghar, is recorded as having worked in the atelier of the governor, Prince Ibrahim Mirza.Grove After Ibrahim's murder, Ali Asghar joined Shah Ismail II's workshop in the capital Qasvin.Titley, 108 Riza probably received his training from his father and joined the workshop of Shah Abbas I at a young age. By this date, the number of royal commissions for illustrated books had diminished, and had been replaced by

album miniatures in terms of employment given to the artists of the royal workshop.Brend, 165-166: Grove

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.Canby (1996), Appendix III and passim He may have worked on the ambitious, but incomplete Shahnameh, now in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.Canby (1996), 181, allows him four of the miniatures A much later copy of the work, from 1628, at the end of Abbas' reign and rendered in a very different style, may also be his. It is now in the British Library (MS Additional 27258).Titley, 108-109, 114 His first dated drawing is from 1601, in the Topkapi Palace.Grove A book miniature of 1601–2 in the National Library of Russia has been attributed to him; the only other miniature in the book is probably by his father.Canby (2009), 176 He is generally attributed with the 19 miniatures in a Khusraw and Shirin of 1631–32, although their quality has been criticised.Canby (1996), 193, items 75-93

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.Brend, 165-166

His earlier works were signed Aqa Risa (or Riza, Reza etc., depending on the transliteration used), which, confusingly, is also the name of a contemporary Persian artist who worked for the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in India. In 1603, at the age of about 38, the artist in Persia received the honorific title of Abbasi from his patron, the shah, associating him with his name. In the early 20th century, there was much scholarly debate, mostly in German, as to whether the later Aqa Risa and Riza Abbasi were the same figures. It is now accepted that they were, although his style shows a considerable shift in mid-career.Titley, 114; Grove; Gray, 80-81 represents an older view Riza Abbasi, the painter, is also not to be confused with his contemporary Ali Riza Abbasi, Shah Abbas' favourite calligrapher, who in 1598, was appointed to the important position of royal librarian, and therefore in charge of the royal atelier of painters and calligraphers. Both Rizas accompanied the shah on his campaign to Khurasan in 1598 and followed him to the new capital he established in Isfahan from 1597 to 1598.Canby (2009), 36; see also the calligrapher's biography in [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ali-reza-abbasi-tabrizi-10th-11th-16th-17th-century-calligrapher-born-and-trained-in-tabriz-but-active-principally-in- Encyclopedia Iranica] Soon after, Riza Abbasi left the Shah's employ in a "mid-life crisis",Grove apparently seeking greater independence and freedom to associate with Isfahan's "low-life" world, including athletes, wrestlers and other unrespectable types.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. In 1610, he returned to the court, probably because he was short of money, and continued in the employ of the Shah until his death.Titley, 114; Brend 165; Canby (2009), 36, 50 A series of drawings copying the miniatures attributed to the great 15th-century artist Behzad, which were in the library of the shrine at Ardabil, strongly suggest that Riza had visited the city, probably as part of the Shah's party and perhaps on his visits in 1618 or 1625.Canby (2009), 123, 179

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".Grove He painted many older men, perhaps scholars, Sufi divines, or shepherds, as well as birds and Europeans, and in his last years sometimes satirized his subjects.Grove

Sheila Canby's 1996 monograph accepts 128 miniatures and drawings as by Riza, or probably so, and lists as "Rejected" or "Uncertain Attributions" a further 109 that have been ascribed to him at some pointCanby (1996), Appendices I & III Today, his works can be found in Tehran in the Reza Abbasi Museum and in the library at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. They can also be found in several western museums, such as the Smithsonian, where the Freer Gallery of Art has an album of works by him and pupils,Titley, 114 the British Museum, Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

File:Riza-yi-Abbasi 009.jpg|Reclining woman, 1595

File:Reza Abbasi - Two Lovers (1630).jpg|Two Lovers, 1630

File:Youth kneeling and holding out a wine-cup.jpg|Youth kneeling and holding out a wine cup

File:Georgian prince by Reza Abbasi.jpg|Prince Muhammad-Beik of Georgia by Reza Abbasi, 1620

File:Reza abbasi miniature cupbearer.jpg|Cup-bearer. Miniature

File:Riza-i Abbasi Young Portuguese - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg|Young Portuguese

File:Young man in European dress playing on a lute, Iran, 1630s.jpg|Musician dressed as a European with viol

File:Riza-i Abbasi Young Man with a Sword - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg|Young man with a sword

File:زنی با بادبزن.jpg|Lady with a Fan

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{{Reflist|2}}

• 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

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• {{EI2|last=Canby|first=Sheila R.|title=Riḍā ʿAbbāsī|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/rida-abbasi-SIM_6286?s.num=20&s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&s.start=20&s.q=gulistan|volume=8}}
• [http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/VisualPoetry/riza1.htm Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian]
• [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/90639/rec/3 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

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Category:1560s births

Category:1635 deaths

Category:Iranian miniature painters

Category:16th-century Iranian painters

Category:17th-century Iranian painters

Category:16th-century painters from Safavid Iran

Category:17th-century painters from Safavid Iran