Iran to unveil largest teahouse painting

Sun Dec 19, 2010

Iran's largest teahouse painting, created by two veteran artists, is scheduled to be unveiled at an art gallery in the capital city of Tehran.

The 32-meter artwork, which covers the walls of the Gallery 66, will be unveiled after more than three decades since the project started.

Teahouse painting is a traditional Persian art which embodies some elements of miniature painting. The works painted in this style mostly depict religious and national events.

“When I bought Gallery 66 in 1974, I decided to design a teahouse painting to cover the walls of the building,” veteran painter and collector Sadeq Tabrizi told ISNA.

“I wanted the painting to include major events from the descent of Gabriel to the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) up to contemporary Islamic occasions,” he added.

Renowned Iranian teahouse painter Abbas Boloukifar was the first artist to design and start painting it. He spent five years on designing it.

The project, however, came to a halt after the 1979 Islamic Revolution until Biouk Ahmari resumed the work in 1998 completing it in 2003.

“Boloukifar had suggested that 1979 Imam Khomeini's arrival in Tehran be painted as the final scene of the artwork, but he did not live long enough to realize his dream,” said Tabrizi.

The painting depicts the descent of Gabriel, the ascent of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), early Islamic battles, Ashura and several other contemporary Islamic events.

The artwork, painted on canvas, will be unveiled by the end of Muharram, the first month on the Islamic calendar, on January 5, 2011.

Tabrizi plans to hold Naqqali sessions at the gallery.

Naqqali is an epic narration inspired by religious events as well as mythical narrations, such as the 11th-century Persian poet Ferdowsi's Shahnameh (The Book of Kings).

Dating back to the Safavid era Naqqali can be performed in verse or prose and by only one person, who presents it with a special tone and expression, playing the roles of all characters.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail/156204.html.