SAFAVID IRAN, CIRCA 1600

Single-page portraits of this type were very much in vogue in Isfahan in the late 16^th century. As the city became more prosperous towards the end of the century, so a new class of subjects emerged, young dandies – elegantly clad, like ours, and often seemingly idle. These beautiful young men and women were typical subjects for the artists that quickly became most associated with the genre, such as Sadiqi Beg (1533-ca.1612) and Reza ‘Abbasi (ca.1560s-1635). The wonderfully large turban worn by our youth is similar in style to that found on a painting by Reza ‘Abbasi in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of a Man in a Fur-Lined Coat (acc.no.55.121.39) and its companion piece a painting of a Barefoot Youth (in the Art and History Trust, Houston, published in Sheila Canby, The Rebellious Reformer. The Drawings and Paintings of Rizy-yi ‘Abbasi of Isfahan, London, 1996, no.35). Another painting of a youth with a similarly large turban, also by Reza ‘Abbasi, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv.L.6964).