I had completely forgotten that I had established this blog site. This is a photo of a beautiful painting by an unknown Iranian from the early 1950s. It is flanked by four photos that Phil took during his trip to Iran in 2007. Those four are bracketed by two small paintings in mosaic frames. It is the most elegant arrangement in our house. The Iranian painting appears to depict a scene from an unidentified poem and may be of a brothel or of a suitor approaching the house of his bride to be. It seems to have been painted on parchment. Some areas are in relief and there is much gilding. There is calligraphic writing in various places, but I don't know if it is to inform the images or not. The painting was a gift from a new friend at an unexpected moment and I love that he knew that I would love it.
Things always change, don't they? It seems I have misunderstood the relationship and a disagreement has occurred. One consequence is that this beautiful painting no longer resonates warmly with the sentiments of the beginnings of our friendship, and so I will be returning it to his household.
ReplyDeleteSometime later. The former friend moved away. His son did not want the painting. I still have it, but I would rather it was in a museum or someone else's home.
DeleteI have now visited Iran and what learning; what a treat, albeit with such limited time. One week in Tehran, 1.5 days in Isfahan. I couldn't help but compare and contrast the dynamics (superficially of course) of men and women in Mali versus Iran, of Islam, of the use of color against a desert foundation. Mali's dust is orange-ish in color; Iran's is beige/khaki. Malians (West Africans) rely on boldly patterned and colored textiles and personal adornment. Homes are muted in decor, women work sun-up to sun-down becuase of lack of electricity to power conveniences like refrigerators... Iranians rely on adornment of place, patterns on patterns, blue and green feature prominently throughout and mirrors; the clothing is muted, women's heads are covered/men's are not.
ReplyDeletegetting to know