TEHRAN – “Suffer and Color”, a book comprised of the biography of Iranian miniaturist Hossein Behzad (1894–1968) and copies of his works, was unveiled at Tehran’s Khatam University on Monday.

Published by Miras-e Qalam Publications, Mohammadreza Asadzadeh has authored the three-language book based on Behzad’s sketches kept at museums in Iran, France and the United States.

The Iranian National Commission for UNESCO, Bank Pasargad, a major Iranian private banking establishment, and the French Cultural Association in Tehran, as well as the Academy of Arts have collaborated on publishing the book.

The book begins with the introduction of the Islamic philosopher Seyyed Hossein Nasr and master of Persian miniature Mahmud Farshchian in addition to commendations by scholars Bahaeddin Khorramshahi, Reza Davari Ardakani, Mohammad-Ebrahim Bastani Parizi, Ehsan Naraqi and Ali Mo’allem Damghani.

A number of scholars and artists attended the unveiling ceremony, which began with the message of Professor Nasr.

Director of the university Majid Qasemi called the book a great tribute to the father of contemporary Persian miniature.

Asadzadeh noted that the book is the fruit of 15 years of work and study, saying, “Master Behzad was an artist who lived an anonymous life; he suffered a hard life. He made great efforts to clear images of the Mongols from Persian paintings and replaced them with Persian portraits.”

In his brief words Aghdashlu also said that Behzad had an influential role in contemporary art and the record of the history of the art of Iran would be preserved by introducing Behzad to the world.

Behzad was son of Fazlollah Esfahani, a prominent watercolor painter and pen case maker. He had a very painful childhood after his father died. However, he never gave up painting. 

He is mostly famous for his innovations in Persian miniature painting. He created his works in large sizes. He also used shading for subjects in his works for the first time in this genre. 

Behzad visited Europe and America several times and his paintings were showcased in several exhibits on the continents. 

A number of his works are currently on display at the Behzad Museum in Tehran.

RM/YAW