Mir Musavvir ( fl. 1510–48, died 1555) was a Persian painter at the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

court at

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

and later the Mughal court at

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. During his time at the royal

workshop, he contributed to the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp. He was the father of

Mir Sayyid Ali Mir Sayyid Ali (Tabriz, 1510 – 1572) was a Persian miniature painter who was a leading artist of Persian miniatures before working under the Mughal dynasty in India, where he became one of the artists responsible for developing the style of Mugh ...

, who adopted his occupation of painting. Mir Musavvir moved to

from

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

. The regional source of his style is evident in his illustrations from the 1520s, for example the painting "Ardashir and the Slave Girl Gulnar" of 1527–8 that he produced for the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp; the compositions are carefully constructed, with much attention given to architectural elements and the accurate depiction of objects such as lamps, bowls and ewers. By the 1530s, however, as part of the synthesis of eastern and western Iranian styles of painting, Mir Musavvir’s illustrations became “more broadly conceived and dramatic” and ceased to contain an abundance of minute details. As well as manuscript illustrations, Mir Musavvir produced single-page paintings to be included in albums known as Muraqqas, for example the portrait “Sarkhan Beg the Table-steward”. By November 1549, Mir Musavvir and his son

had left Iran for the Mughal court at

. Shah

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after t ...

was likely willing to release them only because he himself was no longer actively patronizing them. According to the contemporary chronicler

Dust Muhammad Dust Muhammad (or Doust Muhammad) was a Persian painter of miniatures, calligrapher, and art historian, active from about 1510 to 1564. Later in life he worked in India. Early career Dust Muhammad was born in Herat in the late 15th century, alth ...

, Mir Musavvir and

Aqa Mirak Aqa Mirak (floruit, fl. 1520 – Qazvin, 1576) was a Persia, Persian illustrator and Persian art, painter. Life Aqa Mirak was a painter, purveyor and companion to the Safavid dynasty, Safavid shah Tahmasp I and was well known in contemporary circ ...

worked together closely in service to the

royal library, producing wall paintings for the palace of Prince Sam Mirza and illustrations for the royal manuscript of the ''Khamsa'' of Nizami of 1539–43. Mir Musavvir's signature is on a courtier's turban in the painting "Manuchihr Enthroned" of the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp, and a verse couplet written in the

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

depicted in the illustration "Nushirwan and the Owls" of the 1539–43 ''Khamsa'' manuscript attributes the painting to Mir Musavvir and dates it to 1539–40.

References

Persian miniature painters 1576 deaths Year of birth unknown 16th-century Iranian painters {{Iran-painter-stub