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Lot Essay
This charming portrait bears the hallmarks of belonging to the school of the famous 17th century Isfahani artist, Reza 'Abbasi. 'Abbasi (d.1635) developed a new manner in Persian drawing and painting, and in doing so attracted numerous disciples who followed and continued his style.
The portrait offered here falls outside the normal subjects covered by Reza's oeuvre. He is best known for paintings that fall into the categories of manuscript illumination, works after other artists, and portraits of dervishes or of youthful servants at court. The present portrait recalls a Christian scene of Mary and Joseph. Reza 'Abbasi is known to have copied European prints in the first half of his career. It has been suggested, for instance, that a drawing of a sleeping woman, formerly in the Kevorkain Collection, was copied from an engraving of Cleopatra by the early 16th century Italian artist Marcantonio Raimondi, after an original by Raphael (Canby, op. cit., cat.8 and fig.I, p.28). Similarly the drawing offered here may take a European print as its prototype. Whether this is the case, or whether it instead simply depicts a loving couple, the portrait certainly bears the hallmarks of Reza 'Abbasi's style. The treatment of Joseph's beard, with the long wavy lines, and the heavy draping of the textiles worn by both, particularly Mary's veil, is similar to that typical of 'Abbasi, as seen in a portrait of a dervish signed by him and dated AH 1034 in the Dauphin Collection, Geneva (Canby, op. cit., London, 1996, cat.104, p.152).
The portrait offered here falls outside the normal subjects covered by Reza's oeuvre. He is best known for paintings that fall into the categories of manuscript illumination, works after other artists, and portraits of dervishes or of youthful servants at court. The present portrait recalls a Christian scene of Mary and Joseph. Reza 'Abbasi is known to have copied European prints in the first half of his career. It has been suggested, for instance, that a drawing of a sleeping woman, formerly in the Kevorkain Collection, was copied from an engraving of Cleopatra by the early 16th century Italian artist Marcantonio Raimondi, after an original by Raphael (Canby, op. cit., cat.8 and fig.I, p.28). Similarly the drawing offered here may take a European print as its prototype. Whether this is the case, or whether it instead simply depicts a loving couple, the portrait certainly bears the hallmarks of Reza 'Abbasi's style. The treatment of Joseph's beard, with the long wavy lines, and the heavy draping of the textiles worn by both, particularly Mary's veil, is similar to that typical of 'Abbasi, as seen in a portrait of a dervish signed by him and dated AH 1034 in the Dauphin Collection, Geneva (Canby, op. cit., London, 1996, cat.104, p.152).