An Aesthetic Study in the Miniatures of the Persian Shahnameh

Abstract

     Miniatures are considered one of the most important fields of Islamic arts which convey us the culture and thought of Islamic civilizations. They are a historical record in which events are documented in all aspects, whether social, political or military. This study aimed to read the aesthetic aspects of the Persian Shahnameh miniatures, through a description and artistic analysis that dealt with: Islamic art schools which the Persian School went through and that had an impact on its artwork, which in turn, was reflected in the miniatures.

   The study used the descriptive analytical approach for revealing and analyzing the aesthetic aspects of the Shahnameh miniatures, and for reaching results related to the research objectives. The study could  reach several conclusions;  the most important of which are: the miniatures of the Shahnameh combine more than one artistic style of Islamic art schools, the aesthetic structure of the miniature is part of an integrated system resulting from unity, repetition, rhythm, color, etc., which created interaction and harmony with each other.

    Due to the results of the study, the current study reached a set of recommendations; the most important of which are: conducting more specialized aesthetic studies in the miniatures of the Shahnameh for understanding its content and highlighting its importance, and conducting studies related to revealing the symbolic connotations in the miniatures of the Shahnameh.