TEHRAN -- Studying modern art without examining its traditional roots is ineffective, Saba Artistic and Cultural Complex official Farzad Zad-Mohsen said here on Tuesday.

An exhibition entitled “A Review of Visual Arts in the 19th and 20th Centuries” displaying the artwork of the Qajar, Afshar, and Zand eras is currently underway at the Saba Complex.

The beautifully arranged dome-like frames of the paintings catch one’s attention immediately.

“Today’s modern Iranian art is not separate from Qajar art. Providing an investigative and intellectual foundation for studying modern art, understanding Iran’s art history, and inviting (people) to actively participate in reviewing Iran’s history are the main goals of the exhibition”, Zad-Mohsen told the Tehran Times.

A careful study of three dominant figures of these periods, Saniolmolk, Kamalomolk, and Malekosho’ara-ye Bahar, is one of the other aims of the art show.

This exhibition is the first time the original works of these artists are on display at the same time.

Attention to detail, innovation, a different view of man, life, and society, promotion of social life, and techniques of European artistic schools of the time are some prevalent features of these artworks, Zad-Mohsen said.

Many works of this collection contain Islamic and especially Shia themes such as the portraits of Shia Imams and pictures of the Ashura incident.

“Although this is a 1000-item exhibition, including lithography works, stained glass, teahouse paintings, calligraphy works, and photos, it is not a comprehensive exhibition since many artworks of these periods are held in personal collections and galleries in Europe and the United States. However, they can be regarded as representative of the Qajar, Afshar, and Zand eras in Iranian history,” he explained.

The exhibition organizers said that they made three years of strenuous efforts to collect all the artworks.

The items are on loan from the Golestan Palace, the National Museum of Iran, Sadabad Palace, Niavaran Palace, Shiraz’s Pars Museum, the Tbilisi History Museum, and the Abdol Azim Holy Shrine Museum.

“The exhibition has been given a good reception. More than three thousand people attended the opening ceremony, which is a remarkable number. Most of the visitors are young people, university students, especially art students, and researchers,” said Saba Complex official Ali Safaii.

The exhibition will run until August 1 at Saba Artistic and Cultural Complex, which is located on Mozaffar St., near Felestin Square.