Mo'en Mosavver

Mo'en Mosavver or Mu‘in Musavvir (Persian: معین مصوّر, lit. 'Mo'en the painter') was a Persian miniaturist, one of the significant in 17th-century Safavid Iran. Not much is known about the personal life of Mo'en, except that he was born in ca. 1610-1615, became a pupil of Reza Abbasi, the leading painter of the day, and probably died in 1693. Over 300 miniatures and drawings attributed to him survive. He was a conservative painter who partly reversed the advanced style of his master, avoiding influences from Western painting. However, he painted a number of scenes of ordinary people, which are unusual in Persian painting.[1]

Muin Musavvir: Rustam kills Suhrab, Shahnameh by Ferdowsi, 1649. British Museum

Muin was born in Isfahan and probably spent all of his life in this city. He enjoyed a long and successful career stretching from around 1630 to 1693.[2]

Career

He is notable as a master of illustration paintings especially figures, and compositions depicting banquet and battle scenes.[3] He specialized in illuminated manuscripts and border decorations.

He illustrated animals and landscapes and other Aqa Mirak styles with significant virtuosity. He mostly used watercolor in his painting and remained faithful to the Isfahan school and Reza Abbasi. Other prominent painters influenced him, including Behzad, Mohammadi and Sadiqi Beg. He had several prominent pupils. Some of his manuscripts are signed by them. He was contemporary and friend of famous painters including Shafi' Abbasi.

  • Archer, version of this painting by Reza Abbasi
    Archer, version of this painting by Reza Abbasi
  • Portrait of Reza Abbasi, 1673
    Portrait of Reza Abbasi, 1673
  • The battle between Shah Ismail and Shaybani Khan
    The battle between Shah Ismail and Shaybani Khan
  • Shah Ismail I (r. 1501-1524) watches his troops defeat the Musha'sha leader Sultan Fayyad, created c. 1688
    Shah Ismail I (r. 1501-1524) watches his troops defeat the Musha'sha leader Sultan Fayyad, created c. 1688
  • Lacquer pen box, the only one known to have been painted by Muin
    Lacquer pen box, the only one known to have been painted by Muin[4]
  • Woman with Indian headdress, from an exemplar of the Shahnameh, 1648
    Woman with Indian headdress, from an exemplar of the Shahnameh, 1648[5]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muin Mussavir.
  1. Eng, Robert (2016). "Moʿin-e Moṣavver". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  2. "Shahnama (Book of Kings) of Firdausi - Mu'in Musavvir - 1974.290.43". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  3. Massumeh, Farhad (1992). Muqarnas Volume IX: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture.
  4. "Pen Box". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
  5. "Youth in European Dress and Young Woman with Indian Headdress, from a Shahnamah". Khalili Collections. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
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