SIGNED PAUL MAK, TEHRAN, DATED 1927

Pavel Petrovich Ivanov, who worked under the pseudonym Paul Mak, studied at K. Iuon's studio in Moscow and illustrated for Moscow and St. Petersburg journals including Satirikon before enrolling at the Kiev Military Academy following the outbreak of World War I. He was wounded during action but by the end of the war had been promoted to the rank of Captain and served in the 89th Belomorskii Infantry Regiment. Imprisoned by the Bolsheviks in Butyrskii following the October revolution, Mak was swiftly rehabilitated and by 1920 was working as an artist for the Theatre of Revolutionary Satire in Moscow. In 1922 Mak emigrated, heralded the most exciting and creative period in his oeuvre. Crossing Turkestan and Afghanistan, Mak settled in Persia, modern-day Iran, initially working as a racehorse trainer before an introduction to the Reza Shah Pahlavi led to his appointment as official court artist. During this period, Mak was devoted to the study of the Persian miniature. He sought inspiration from the exoticism of Eastern tales and history and lent his stylised line to figures such as Salome, Chingis Khan and Tamerlane as here.