From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari
|
---|
Born
| Late 18th-century
|
---|
Died
| c.
1797/98
|
---|
Occupation(s)
| Painter and historian
|
---|
Notable work
| Golshan-e Morad
|
---|
Parent
| - Mirza Mo'ezz-al-din Mohammad Ghaffari (father)
|
---|
Relatives
| Farrokh Khan
(great-nephew)
Abu'l-Hasan Sani al-Mulk
(great-nephew)
|
---|
Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari
(
Persian
:
???????? ?????? ?????
) was an 18th-century Iranian painter and historian from the
Ghaffari family
of
Kashan
. Besides several European-style paintings, he is also known to be the author of the
Golshan-e Morad
, a book covering the history of the
Zand dynasty
.
Biography
[
edit
]
The
Ghaffari family
had a lengthy history of serving in government. Abu'l-Hasan's father Mirza Mo'ezz-al-din Mohammad Ghaffari was the governor of Kashan,
Qom
,
Natanz
and
Jowshaqan
during the reign of the Zand ruler
Karim Khan Zand
(
r.
1751?1779
). Abu'l-Hasan was born in Kashan in the late 18th-century.
He had two brothers named Abdul Matlab and Mirza Ahmad.
Since the late
Safavid
era, European-style paintings had been a favorite subject of Iranian artists, and Abu'l-Hasan was the first member of his family to show an interest in them. Abu'l-Hasan describes how he started painting;
"From the age of seven, I spent ten years learning to paint. However, because my father did not want me to do this, Mirza Muhammad Burujirdi who was a friend of my father and also worked at the court of the Zands, at my father's request once started talking about the prerequisites for painting. He advised me, "Even though painting is a delicate art and an honest trade, it provides an uncertain livelihood and is considered beneath the dignity of a man?certainly that of a man of your rank. It therefore behoves you to follow in the footsteps of your father.""
Abu'l-Hasan then made the decision to shift career paths. After learning the craft of annotation, he started writing official records and eventually rose to the position of court historian of Karim Khan. Due to internal strife amongst the Zand family following Karim Khan's death in 1779, Abu'l-Hasan appears to have stopped writing between 1780 and 1784. But after these problems subsided in 1784 under the rule of
Ali-Morad Khan Zand
(
r.
1781?1785
), he started writing again, naming his historical chronicle
Golshan-e Morad
after the new Zand ruler. Despite changing his career path to that of a chronicler and scribe, Abu'l-Hasan never stopped painting, as demonstrated by handwritten and date-stamped paintings.
Regarded as a skilled portrait artist, Abu'l-Hasan used "al-Mostawfi" as his signature.
Abu'l-Hasan died in
c.
1797/98
.
He was the great paternal uncle of
Farrokh Khan
and
Abu'l-Hasan Sani al-Mulk
.
Gallery
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Bloom, Jonathan
;
Blair, Sheila
(2009). "Ghaffari".
Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture: Three-Volume Set
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0195309911
.
- Dhoka', Yahya (2015).
"Ab? al-?asan Mustawf?"
. In
Madelung, Wilferd
;
Daftary, Farhad
(eds.).
Encyclopaedia Islamica Online
. Brill Online.
ISSN
1875-9831
.
- Floor, Willem
(1999). "Art (Naqqashi) and Artists (Naqqashan) in Qajar Persia".
Muqarnas
.
13
. Brill: 125?154.
JSTOR
1523268
.
(
registration required
)
- Gaffary, F. (1983).
"Abu'l-?asan Mostawf?"
. In
Yarshater, Ehsan
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume I/3: Ablution, Islamic?Ab? Man??r Heravı?
. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 311.
ISBN
978-0-71009-092-8
.
- Perry, John R. (1979).
Karim Khan Zand: A History of Iran, 1747?1779
. University of Chicago Press.
ISBN
978-0226660981
.
- Perry, John R. (2001).
"Gol?an-e mor?d"
. In
Yarshater, Ehsan
(ed.).
Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume XI/1: Gi?ni?Gol?ani
. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 108?109.
ISBN
978-0-933273-60-3
.