Qajar art was the architecture, paintings, and other art forms produced during the Qajar era, from 1781 to 1925, in Iran (Persia).
The boom in artistic expression that occurred during the Qajar era was a side effect of the period of relative peace that accompanied the rule of Agha Mohammad Khan and his descendants. With his ascension, the bloody turmoil of the 18th century came to a close and made it possible for peacetime arts to flourish in Iran.
Painting Most notably, Qajar art is recognisable for its distinctive style of portraiture.
Origins and influences The roots of traditional Qajar painting can be found in the style of painting that arose during the preceding Safavid empire. During this era, there was a considerable amount of European influence on Iranian culture, especially in the arts of the royal and aristocratic classes. European art was undergoing a period of realism and this can be seen in the depiction of objects especially by Qajar artists. European influence is evident in the preeminent position and prestige of oil painting. While oil paintings had been par for the course during previous periods of Iranian art, it was the influence of the European masters of oil portraiture, like Rubens and Rembrandt, that raised it to the highest level. Heavy application of paint and dark, rich, saturated colors are elements of Qajar painting that owe their influences directly to the European style.
Development of painting style While the depiction of inanimate objects and still lifes is seen to be very realistic in Qajar painting, the depiction of human beings is decidedly idealised. This is especially evident in the portrayal of Qajar royalty, where the subjects of the paintings are very formulaically placed and situated to achieve a desired effect.
Royal portraiture
Most famous of the Qajar artworks are the portraits that were made of the various Iranian shahs. Each ruler, and many of their sons and other relatives, commissioned official portraits of themselves either for private use or public display. The most famous of these are the myriad portraits which were painted of Fath Ali Shah Qajar, who, with his narrow waist, long black bifurcated beard and deepest dark eyes, has come to exemplify the Romantic image of the great Oriental Ruler. Many of these paintings were by the artist Mihr 'Ali. While the portraits were executed at various points throughout the life of the Shah, they adhere to a canon in which the distinctive features of the ruler are emphasized. Portraits exist of Fath Ali Shah in a very wide assortment of situations, from the armor-clad warrior king to the flower smelling gentleman, but all are similar in their depiction of the Shah, differing only slightly, usually due to the specific artist of the portrait. It is only appropriate that this particular Shah be so immortalized in this style, as it was under his rule as the second Qajar shah that the style truly flourished. One reason for this were the stronger and stronger diplomatic ties that the Qajar rulers were nurturing with European powers.
As the Shangri La Center for Islamic Arts and Culture notes, "Later Iranian art of the Afsharid (1736–96), Zand (1750–94) and Qajar (1779–1924) periods is distinguished by the depiction of life-size figures, whether in stone relief, tilework or painting on canvas. In the latter category, Qajar rulers like Fath 'Ali Shah (r. 1797–1834) perpetuated a widespread interest in large-scale portraiture (even sending portraits to political rivals)."
While Fath Ali Shah himself never visited Europe, many portraits of him were sent with envoys in the effort to convey the imperial majesty of the Qajar court. During the reign of Naser ad-Din Shah photography became much more important, and portraiture, while still used for official purposes, fell gradually out of favor. In addition, as Naser ad-Din Shah was the first Iranian monarch to visit Europe, the official sending of portraits was left by the wayside, a relic of times gone by.
Other portraiture
The depiction of nonroyal persons also has a very important place in the explanation and understanding of Qajar art. While naturally not commoners, the subjects of these portraits were often minor princes (of which there were many!), the grandsons, nephews, and great-nephews of the ruling or previously ruling Shahs. These princes, with the wealth and position of their families, had very little else to do but contribute to the arts, so their patronage was certainly less than detrimental to the arts of the time. Often, portraits of this class would be commissioned as depictions of family groups, depicting the male, an idealized, nubile wife, and their perfectly formed child. Other times, they would be in the form of a royal portrait, depicting solely the male commissioner, but with subtle variations making it clear that the sitter is not a Royal. One way that this was accomplished was through a cartouche that was displayed next to the head of each portrait's subject, clarifying who was being depicted, and any relevant titles (such as Soltān, shāhzādeh, &c.). For the ruling head of Iran, this cartouche is fairly regulated, ("al-soltān Official name Shāh Qājār"), while for anyone else, it may include a longer name, a lesser title or a short genealogy.
Depiction of women After the spread of Islam in the 600s, the depiction of women in the arts decreased compared to the art movements of the Sasanian era. Portraiture of women started to be considered as a dishonorable practice towards women, based on the Islamic traditions of womanhood and modesty. The trend has changed with the arrival of Mongol invasions in Iran. Traditionally, female veiling was not as strict among Turko-Mongol tribes, as prescribed by ancient traditions and the Islamisation of society in Iran. Likewise, Mongol women, due to their nomad lifestyle, were conditioned to lead a physically active life, making heavy veiling unpractical. Tribal women were also more politically active, where specifically the lineage of women empowered Timurid Dynasty. Consequently, due to the influences of Mongols and expanding ties with Europe, where Italian renaissance was at its peak, Iranian artists rethought their attitude towards the painting of women. Whereas with time, female nudity and eroticism in painting became a part of Iranian visual culture.
Gender was often blurred in early Qajar Iran paintings, displaying similarities in body and facial features between men and women who were illustrated to be beautiful in many paintings. Young males and females were often linked to the object of desire. The appearance of young beardless men was called "Mukhannas". It was not until the 19th century when females were depicted as more individualized with distinct feminine facial and body features which ultimately led to the disappearance of the mukhanna, the male object of desire. 19th century Qajar art also brought the emergence of the bare-breasted woman. Examples of the bare breast would be seen through a dress for fetishistic pleasure and become a major theme in Qajar paintings. These bare-breasted women were portrayed as angels, European women, or women of pleasure such as acrobats or musicians. Some paintings include a portrayal of Mary and baby Jesus. Eventually, the bare breast led to an indication of womanhood.
The posture and positions women were placed in these paintings help tell a story. Women often held objects such as mirrors, fruit, or wine to represent beauty and pleasure. These representations go in hand with Persian poetry. With Persian literature in mind, occasional paintings featured women with an "outward gaze" which represents "directly addressing the reader" and is seen in many narrative paintings from Khosrow and Shirin, Yusuf and Zulaykha, and Shaykh San'an. In contrast to traditional postures and positions of women in 19th-century Qajar art, was a common female representation of women gracefully upside down on their hands on a knife. This was interpreted as a rejection to a social order which is represented in folk narratives in both pictorial and literary representations to dismiss the stereotype of passive Iranian women.
Female creativity Though not well-documented, women have contributed to the 19th-century art heritage of Iran. Due to social, cultural, and religious constraints, art samples created by women were rarely preserved, since society, in general, didn't encourage female self-expression. Qajar women, especially from upper-class families, led creatively and culturally rich lives. Many of them were ambitious writers, poets, artists, calligraphers, religious leaders, and also, activists by the end of the century. "Women's Worlds in Qajar Iran" is a 21st-century-established digital archive dedicated to recording 19th-century Iranian women's lives and their input into cultural heritage.
Shahs' harems, in turn, were of considerable importance in regard to women's opportunity to create and promote their art. Harem represented a femicentric space, where women were able to freely exchange and share ideas, not influenced by hierarchal submission to men in 19th-century Iran, experiencing levels of autonomy. It was a place from where female creativity arose.
Lacquerware
Qajar lacquerware is a specific form of decorative lacquer popular during the Qajar era (1789–1925). The era saw a boost in the production of lacquerware objects, especially pen boxes.Stanley, Tim. "Lacquer in the Islamic World." In The World of Lacquer. 2000 Years of History. Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, 2001, 157–76. Lacquer was also used to adorn objects such as mirror cases, manuscript covers, lidded boxes, and other domestic objects, even playing cards. Often, these objects had added metalwork elements such as hinges or embossing.Ward, R. M. Islamic Metalwork. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1993. The decoration typical of this art form is characterized by its bright colors, detailed ornamentation, and blend of Persian and European motifs and themes.
Unlike East Asian lacquerware, which are made from tree resin, Qajar lacquerware is shellac-based. Shellac comes from the lac insect and was refined to be applied in layers to wood, paper mache, or other materials. Once sanded down, the top layer was decorated with the artwork that would cover the lacquer. The painted surface was then protected by a layer of transparent lacquer varnish."How Shellac Is Made: Material, History, Used, Processing, Product, Industry, History, Raw Materials." 2014. Madehow.com. 2014.
The paintings beneath the layer of lacquer (shellac) feature a wide range of imagery including portraiture, calligraphy, foliage, animals, and romantic scenes."Erotic Images and Imagery in the Early Qajar Period: A Study in Projection, Adaptation, Adoption and Appropriation." Anthropology of the Contemporary Middle East and Central Eurasia 5 & 6 (2021): 102–26. Some scenes depicted the idyllic life of the ruling class, including representations of members of the royal family and Qajar court enjoying feasts in lush gardens surrounded by beautiful women, servants, and the trappings of luxury. The most commonly found motif of the Qajar era were birds among flowers on a solid-colored background. Such floral imagery was popular in various arts and thus reflects the tastes of the time, but it also reflected the Qajars' interest in European arts. Moreover, trade with European countries increased at this time and, as a result, some artists began to "westernize" their art, blending both Persian and European styles.Robinson, B. W. "A Lacquer Mirror-Case of 1854." Iran : Journal of the British Institute of Persian Studies 5 (1967): 1–6. doi:10.2307/4299583.