Portrait of Rizā ‘Abbāsī,

1673 or 1674

This portrait of Rizā ‘Abbāsī, painted a few decades after his death by Muʻīn Muṣavvir, one of his most talented students, portrays the artist seated on the floor, cross-legged, and painting a standing figure, probably a European gentleman. With spectacles perched on his nose and his pen case, ink bottle, and other tools set before him, ‘Abbāsī appears concentrated on his task. Famed for his portraits, ‘Abbāsī worked for the Safavid Shah ‘Abbās I (r. 1588–1629) and was the leading master of the Isfahan School, the last great school of Persian miniature painting, which flourished in the early seventeenth century. Little is known about the life of Muṣavvir, but he was evidently a prolific illustrator of manuscripts of the early eleventh-century epic poem the Shahnama (Book of Kings), as well as a painter of finely detailed portraits and scenes of famous historical events.