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Summary
The miniature technique
Style vs.
subject - a controversial discussion
Ali
Karimi's earlier works
Ali
Karimi's
later works
Miniature
is the art of fine and small-scale painting. In the present time, the majority
of Iranian miniaturists still follow the traditional styles such as those of the
Safavid and the Herat School (Ref: History).
Ali Karimi is the sole miniaturist who went beyond the conventional miniature.
Having experimented in his earlier works with different styles and themes from
past epochs, in his mature artistic periods he entered into new forms of realism
and dreamlike fantasy, which made his style unique.
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In
general, miniature is known as an art form in which the entities i.e. shapes,
figures and portraits are painted with subtlety and on a small-scale. A palette
of watercolours and special fine brushes - made of hair - build up the basic
tools of the artist. The miniature master often creates the brushes himself.
Miniature painting consists of three steps:
- Sketching
- Colouring
-
Refining
 | Sketching
is considered to be the
most essential part of miniature painting. The rule of anatomy and
morphology, e.g. the right proportions of each entity to be painted, has to
be applied in the sketching. For a long time the Iranian style was linear
and not dimensional and therefore there was no perspective in the older
miniatures. Thus an entity in the foreground of a painting had virtually the
same size as one in the background. In the modern art of miniature, however,
the painter sketches a sort of perspective, but this does not meet exactly
the rules of perspective. The accuracy of the perspective rather results
from the composition of the tableau. |
| Like
in any other style, Colouring
is an important element of
painting. In this step the finished miniature sketch is roughly coloured.
Additionally, colouring plays a significant role in the Iranian miniature in
order to compensate for the lack of perspective. Colouring is also used to
give a visual impression from a specific viewpoint. The painter decides for
himself whether or to which extent he wants to use colouring instead of
perspective elements.
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| Refining
is
the most time consuming procedure in miniature painting. Using a special
brush made for this purpose, the master first colours all parts of the art
work in a fine and distinct manner giving the miniature a unique brilliance.
He applies then a subtle dotting technique to create light and shadows
particularly on the faces and hands of the figures. |
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Nowadays
Iranian miniature is still widely accepted as an illustration medium for
literature. By visual means, a miniaturist interprets the great works of Iranian
Poets like Hafez, Saadi or Ferdowsi. Using colour and lines according to the
miniature rules and converting a poetical work into a picture, the artist
creates a unique artwork. However, the interpretation of the poetry restricts
the creativity of the miniaturist. The poetry is predominantly from the earlier
Iranian art epochs, particularly the Safavid or still earlier periods, which
presents more self-restriction for the contemporary artist.
The contemporary art painting still prefers traditional
subjects such as hunting, polo and other themes of literature. In fact, their
current environment does not inspire the artists. Ali Karimi became aware of the
lack of renewal in the contemporary art of miniature and as a solution developed
his own genre of painting. Karimi presented the following view on this subject:
"Miniature
has its fundamental rules giving it a unique identity. Each artistic epoch has
its peculiarities. At the present time, however, the miniaturists are mostly
continuing to draw Safavid-like motives despite their superior technique and
creative style. There is no relationship to the present in the miniatures. I am
living at this time. I have inspiration - derived from my existence, which I
want to present in my works. An Iranian artist should respect on the one hand
the basic rules of the Iranian miniature. On the other hand, he should
break with the past, in order to be innovative. We, artists, should not be
constrained to the form and ambience of the Safavid or Qajar era. We should be
conscious of our history, culture and literature but also of present events,
social movements and even politics. Only then can we compose a truly creative
work of art."(*)
He added:
"I made many tableaux in accordance with the style of the Pre-Safavid,
Safavid and Qajar epochs, but I always asked myself why a miniaturist should not
take notice of his own time. So I drew the canvas 'In
the Bakery' in 1953. This was the first time that a miniaturist had
painted a subject from the present time. Most of my colleagues and art experts
told me then 'this is not a miniature'. As if a miniature should be limited to
the traditional subjects."(*)
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Traditional
styles and themes are typical for Karimi's earlier works. This works could be
classified as follows:
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Classical
miniatures, which are influenced by the Herat and Safavid Schools. The
themes are based on Persian literature
aand religion. Scenes such as "Joseph and his
Fiancée",
"Polo" or "Moses
and the Shepherd" belong to this category. "Joseph..."
shows a traditional feast scene, with a rich depiction of figures and
colours. "Polo" is a typical battle
picture, in which figures are painted with extraordinary subtlety and which
needed a well-structured sketching. In the painting "Moses...",
Karimi used the miniature refining technique extensively. Although all the
pictures of this category are characterised as the traditional style, their
specific genre is remarkable: The faces in Karimi’s miniatures are all
different, whereas in the original Safavid or Herat pictures, they are
similar to each other like in the painting of icons.
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| Fine
portraits of celebrities, which are usually painted on. Among them are
portraits of famous Iranian artists and philosophers such as Kamal-ol-Molk
and Avicenna, as well as portraits of
foreign statesmen. The latter were presented to the heads of state as
a gift from the government and are now exhibited in the museums of the
respective countries. Among them are the portraits of Queen Elizabeth,
the Ex-King Baudouin of Belgium, the former American president
Eisenhower, the former German chancellor Adenauer and the portraits
of Roosevelt,
Churchill, Stalin already mentioned (Ref: Biography). |
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In the
midst of his artistic career, Karimi rid his art works from the fetters of
traditional subjects such as royal feasts, battles and banquets. Instead, Karimi
came into a new genre of painting based on his own observations of his
surroundings without leaving the ground rules of miniature as mentioned above.
The conversion of his vivid imagination through precise sketching now formed his
unique style. Two miniature categories may be distinguished:
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Art
works which tell stories of common people from their daily work and lives.
Although the themes are
inspired by the real world, they are all painted in his workshop based on
his mind's eyes. Sample of these miniatures are "In
the Bakery", "Winter at the Bus Stop" and "Macho and
his Wife". With the "Bakery",
Karimi introduced the composition of light and darkness to the
miniature - there had been no such contrast in a miniature before. In "Winter...",
the master observed several ordinary
characters on the street. This painting has been produced in the late era of
the Shah monarchy. In "Macho...", Karimi
presents a couple from Tehran's lower milieu.
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| Paintings,
which entirely represent the artist’s inspirations, his thinking, and
dreamlike fantasy. Works such
as
"Calm, Warm, Cold" and "The
Last
Dawn" belong to this style. "Calm..." is a
metaphor of the earth with its climatic regions. "The
Last
Dawn" was painted when the master was recovering from a
serious illness in 1991, thus reflecting his mood. |
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*
"Negargari Sonnati va Zibashenasi Gharby, Goftogu ba
Ostad Ali Karimi", Traditional Miniature vs. Western Aesthetic, an interview
with the Master Ali Karimi in: Adabestan, Monthly Journal of Art and Literature,
Vol. 3, Tehran, August 1992, page 87)
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