Two Lovers, Safavid Period,
Isfahan, Iran
Date: 1630 AD
Artist: Riza Abbasi (ca. 1565–1635)
Materials and Techniques: Tempera and gilt paint on paper
Size: 18.1 x 11.9 cm
Kept in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Sources: [1],[2]
نقاشی نسبتا اروتیک عاشق و معشوق - دوره صفوی - موزه متروپلیتن نیویورک
The artist Riza Abbasi [3], working at the court of Shah Abbas I of Safavid dynasty [4], revolutionized Persian painting and drawing with his development of the calligraphic line and an innovative palette. His influence on succeeding generations of artists was incalculable. Here the lovers are inextricably bound together, merged volumes confined within one outline. The result is striking but not necessarily comfortable, perhaps reflecting the artist's own discomfort with the constraints imposed by life at court.