SAFAVID IRAN, CIRCA 1640

This elegant drawing is in the style of Muhammad Yusuf al-Husayni (d.1666) who was one of the foremost artists of seventeenth-century Persia. The early part of his career was spent in Herat under the patronage of Hassan Shamlu, but after his death he moved to Isfahan. Following in the style of Reza-i Abbasi (d.1635), alongside contemporaries such as Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Yusuf developed his own unique style and produced drawings and paintings of outstanding draughtsmanship. Typical of his style is the depiction of graceful, tall figures with well-proportioned faces, and the use of lapiz lazuli to highlight certain folds on fabrics, as seen here. Although our painting is not signed, it is possible to assume it is either by Muhammad Yusuf or a contemporaneous artist who followed in his style. A drawing of a dervish signed and dated by Muhammad Yusuf which shares similar features to our painting is in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, (inv. no.14.642). A portrait of a lady holding a wine bottle also signed and dated by Muhammad Yusuf was sold at Sotheby’s London, 25 April 2012, lot 478.