Hossein Behzad

Not to be confused with Kamaleddin Behzad, 15th century miniature artist.

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Hossein Behzad.

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1951 miniature painting by master Behzad depicting the story of Farhad and Shirin.

Hossein Behzad (1894 – 13 October 1968) was a prominent painter from Tehran, Iran.

He became internationally known and won many awards including the 'first class medal of the ministry of culture' from Iran in 1949 and the 'first class medal of international painting' from Miniapolis, USA in 1958. In 1968 Behzad was give an honorary profesorship by the College of Ornamental Arts, Behzad's works have been displayed across the world. To celebrate the millennium of Avicenna, in 1953 he held an exhibition at the Iran Bastan Museum. This caused a sensation and was seen by many international visitors. The paintings on show, which took ten years to complete, included the like of Ferdowsi and the Maedan Arch. The exhibition became particularly important to scholars of oriental studies. In an article for the Vatan newspaper of Istanbul, Professor Soheil Anwar wrote, " Behzad, this great artist does not belong only to Iran. He now belongs to the world."

Shortly after, and to much critical acclaim, Behzad held an exhibition, which was sponsored by the French government, at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris. The exhibition was opened by the French minister for culture on 18 May 1955. The director of Islamic art at the Louvre Museum in Paris commented on the exhibition: " Behzad's name is reminiscent of the delicacy of Persian miniatures. The unique and powerful harmony of the designs and colors on Behzad's paintings takes us from the nuclear age to the past. This master artist adapts the Mongols and Safavid traditions to the manifestations of modern times and makes today's technical and artistic progress comply with the Timurid period miniature." In 1956, fifty Behzad miniatures were put on display in the Library of Congress, Washington DC. As Behzad became a living master, he held exhibitions across the world including London, Prague, New York, Boston and Brussels, as well as in India and Japan.

By 1968 Behzad had become ill and was sent twice to Europe by the Ministry of Culture. Despite this, Behzad died at 8:48pm on 13 October 1968 at the age of 74. He was buried at the cemetery near Imamzadeh Abdollah in Shahr-i Ray. In honor of the artist, the "Behzad Museum" was founded. It is located in Tehran's Sa'dabad Palace and holds a large collection of his works.

References

• Omar Khayyam: Vierzeiler (Rubāʿīyāt) übersetzt von Friedrich Rosen mit Miniaturen von Hossein Behzad. ISBN 978-3-86931-622-2 Details

External links

• His Biography