Thirteenth International Conference on The Arts in Society

Abstract

Adopting a socio-historical approach, the illustrated Shahnama (Iranian National epic) manuscripts can unravel the life situations of their addressees during the times. Although Shahnama is a book which has been well embraced by painters, the type of illustrations has been exposed to variations concerning socio-historical conditions. With that in mind, we try to answer the following questions: What are the impacts of addresses on Shahnama `s illustrations? And is it possible to guess at the addresses by scrutinizing the paintings? In this study by selecting two copies of the Iranian National epic, Baysunghuri (Timurid: 15th century) and Davari, (Qajarid: 19th century), we attempt to answer the above-mentioned questions. To this end, we examine the themes and pictorial elements of these manuscripts in light of the relationship between the paintings and the addressees (in some cases patronage) of Shahnama. The results of this research reveal that the type of addressee (being royal or non-royal) plays a significant role in choosing the themes and the image’s elements.