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 Kamal-ol-Molk |
Welcome to Art Report, our column exploring Iranian art.
Kamal-ol-Molk
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A great man and artist, Mohammad Ghaffari Kashani, known as Kamal-ol-Molk, was born into a talented family in Kashan in 1849. His interest in painting began in childhood. Because of the position of his father’s uncle (Mirza Abol-Hassan Khan Ghaffari, called Sani-al-Molk) in the Qajar royal court of Shah Naseroddeen, also found his way to court, where within a short time he started to work Naggash-Bashi, or "Master of Painters." As a result of his enormous talent, he was soon named Kamal-ol-Molk, which means the "most valuable worthiness" of the country’s art.
Kamal-ol-Molk’s works from this early court period were largely portraits of kings, princes and courtiers and pictures of government buildings. Of his many paintings from this period, "The Reflecting Pool of Sahebgharanieh Palace," "The Hall of Mirrors" and a self-portrait were his own personal favorites. During the nineteenth century traditional Iranian miniature painting continued, but the influence of Western painting was growing. A number of Iranian artists were beginning to travel to Europe. After Shah Naseroddeen’s death in 1896, Kamal-ol-Molk also went to Europe. During his several years in Italy and France, he became acquainted with a large number of important works by such famous European artists as Raphael, Rembrandt, da Vinci, Titian and Rubens. He was especially charmed by the works of Rembrandt, who was interested in Eastern painting. During his European sojourn Kamal-ol-Molk learned the rules and principles of realistic art, and began copying works by famous artists. The copies have been called indistinguishable from the originals apart from their colors, which were described as truer and more pure. The paintings that followed his exposure to European art differed greatly from those completed before his journey, both in style and in subject matter. Some of the more famous are "The Fortune Teller" and "The Goldsmith from Baghdad." After returning to his homeland, Kamal-ol-Molk founded Iran’s first art school, The School of Fine Arts, in Tehran. This school played an important role in the education of Iranian modern artists. In fact, Kamal-ol-Molk can be described as the last span of the bridge passing from traditional to contemporary painting in Iran, or the first step onto the shores of contemporary painting. In Iran he is known as the founder of Iranian classic painting. His last years were spent in self-chosen exile at his small property in Hossein Abad in Neyshabour. There, having lost one eye and ceased to paint, he died a lonely death in August of 1940.
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