SULTAN MUHAMMAD

flourished 16th century, , Safavid Iran one of the greatest of Persian painters and the most notable artist of the Safavid school at Tabriz. During the period 14951522 Sultan Muhammad was probably the leading exponent of the Turkmen school of painting current in western Iran under the White Sheep and Black Sheep Turkmens. This school was marked by dynamic verve, illogical perspectives, concealed grotesques, violent colours, and a strong tendency to see excess as a source of virtue. This Dionysiac style was well suited to the fervent temperament of Shah Esma'il I. Yet in 1522, when the aged painter Behzad of Herat came to reside at the court with several of his disciples, Sultan Muhammad began to be influenced by the balanced, harmonious, and humane school of Herat. The result was a magnificent blend of all the best elements of Persian painting. Sultan Muhammad also found the perfect patron, the young shah Tahmasp I, son of Esma'il, who took paint ing lessons from him. No doubt Tahmasp's predilection for Herat painting also influenced the work of Sultan Muhammad. During the period 152038 Sultan Muhammad worked along with the other court artists on the great Shah-nameh of Tahmasp. With Shaykh-zadeh, a pupil of Behzad, he illustrated a Divan of Hafiz and a Divan of the Turkish poet Mir 'Ali Shir Nava'i in 1526 and 1527. He also worked (153943) on the Khamseh of Nezami, illustrated for Shah Tahmasp. Soon after this the Shah turned away from painting, convinced that it was a frivolous and irreligious diversion, and though some of the Shah's relatives continued to act as patrons, Sultan Muhammad seems to have painted no more. His son, Mirza 'Ali (Muhammadi), already a notable artist, became one of the leading painters of the next generation. Sultan Muhammad's style was diverse, and he was considered a master by his contemporaries. In composition, colour, draftsmanship, verve, wit, and profundity he is clearly one of the greatest painters of the Islamic world, on a par with Behzad.