Figurative Arrangement and Function of Color in the Paintings Arens for Kiyomars, Masti Lahuti and Nasuti

Abstract

Sultan Mohammad Tabrizi is a miniaturist of the Second School of Tabriz who created valuable works in the field of miniature. The painting of the Kiumars Court, the painting of Masti Lahuti and Nasuti are among the most famous and important works of Sultan Mohammad. The analysis of these two paintings in the present text has been carried out with the aim of identifying the visual characteristics of these works and the importance of this work is to establish a scientific connection between the era of Sultan Muhammad and the present era in terms of the rules of artistic work. Findings of this research have shown that the composition of these two works are based on basic geometry. The figurative arrangement of these two paintings are on circular movements, circular shapes, and elliptical shapes, while the vertical and horizontal lines are used to strengthen the work. This use of basic geometry reflects Sultan Muhammad’s dominance in proportion and harmoney of geometric standards in that era. Application of color rules (contrasts of dark and light, cold and warm, and use of complements and quantities) are color characteristics of these two paintings, and the application of these color rules are equivalent to the rules that Johannes Itten proposed in the 20th century. Itten proposed the aesthetic theory of seven color contrasts in the 20th century, which transformed the process of related art works.