From Herat to Isfahan: Aesthetic Continuity and Transformation in Turco-Persian Miniature Painting (Kamāl al-Dīn Behzād and Rezā ʿAbbāsī)

Abstract

TThis article examines the development of Turco-Persian miniature painting on the Iranian Plateau between the late medieval and early modern periods through a comparative analysis of the works of Kamāl al-Dīn Behzād and Rezā ʿAbbāsī. It addresses the question of how aesthetic principles established in Timurid court ateliers were transformed and rearticulated within the cultural and political framework of the Safavid period. Methodologically, the study combines comparative formal analysis and iconographic examination with a contextual reading of court patronage and workshop practices, drawing on selected manuscripts and single-leaf works preserved in major collections. The analysis demonstrates that Kamāl al-Dīn Behzād’s compositional complexity, multi-figure narrative structures, and spatial organization established a visual framework that continued to shape later developments in Persian miniature painting. Rezā ʿAbbāsī, while departing from earlier multi-figure conventions, reformulated these principles through a focus on line, figural isolation, and simplified spatial settings. This transformation did not constitute a rupture but rather a process of selective continuity shaped by the social conditions and patronage structures of the Safavid court, particularly in Isfahan. By situating these stylistic shifts within broader socio-political and institutional changes, the article argues that the evolution from Kamāl al-Dīn Behzād to Rezā ʿAbbāsī reflects a reconfiguration of artistic identity under Safavid cultural policies. The study contributes to existing scholarship by clarifying the mechanisms of aesthetic continuity and transformation in Safavid miniature painting and by reassessing the relationship between artistic practice, court patronage, and political authority in early modern Iran.

Keywords

• Turco-Persian
• Miniature Painting
• Kemāleddīn Behzād
• Rezā Abbāsī
• Safavid Art

Herat’tan İsfahan’a: Türk-İran Minyatür Sanatında Estetik Süreklilik ve Dönüşüm (Kemâleddin Behzād ve Rezā Abbāsī)

Abstract

Bu makale, geç Orta Çağ ile erken modern dönem arasında İran Platosu’nda gelişen Türk-İran minyatür resim geleneğini, Kamâleddîn Behzâd ile Rezâ Abbâsî’nin eserleri üzerinden karşılaştırmalı bir yaklaşımla incelemektedir. Çalışma, Timurlu saray atölyelerinde şekillenen estetik ilkelerin Safevî döneminin kültürel ve siyasal çerçevesi içinde nasıl dönüştürüldüğü ve yeniden yapılandırıldığı sorusuna odaklanmaktadır. Yöntemsel olarak makale, karşılaştırmalı biçimsel analiz ve ikonografik incelemeyi, saray patronajı ve atölye pratiklerinin bağlamsal değerlendirmesiyle birleştirmekte; başlıca koleksiyonlarda muhafaza edilen seçilmiş yazmalar ve tek yapraklı eserler üzerinden analiz yürütmektedir. Analiz, Behzâd’ın kompozisyonel yoğunluğu, çok figürlü anlatı kurgusu ve mekânsal düzen-lemelerinin, Pers minyatür resminin sonraki gelişimlerini belirleyen görsel bir çerçeve oluştur-duğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Rezâ Abbâsî ise, önceki çok figürlü anlatı geleneğinden uzaklaşarak bu ilkeleri çizgiye dayalı ifade, figürel izolasyon ve sadeleştirilmiş mekân kurgusu üzerinden yeniden formüle etmiştir. Bu dönüşüm, bir kopuşu değil, Safevî sarayının özellikle İsfahan’daki toplumsal koşulları ve patronaj yapılarıyla uyumlu biçimde şekillenen seçici bir süreklilik sürecini temsil etmektedir. Bu üslupsal değişimleri daha geniş sosyo-politik ve kurumsal dönüşümler bağlamında ele alan makale, Behzād’dan Rezā Abbāsī’ye uzanan sürecin Safevî kültür politikaları çerçevesinde sanatsal kimliğin yeniden yapılandırılmasına işaret ettiğini savunmaktadır. Çalışma, Safevî minyatür resminde estetik süreklilik ve dönüşümün işleyiş mekanizmalarını açıklığa kavuşturarak, erken modern İran’da sanatsal üretim, saray patronajı ve siyasal otorite arasındaki ilişkiye dair mevcut literatüre eleştirel bir katkı sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Türk-İran
• Minyatür Resmi
• Kemâleddîn Behzâd
• Rezâ Abbâsî
• Safevî Sanatı

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