Mir Musavvir (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1510–48, died 1555) was a Persian painter at the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

court at

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

and later the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

court at

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. During his time at the royal

workshop, he contributed to the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp. He was the father of

Mir Sayyid Ali Mir Sayyid Ali (, Tabriz, 1510 – 1572) was a Persian miniature painter who was a leading artist of Persian miniatures before working under the Mughal dynasty in India, where he became one of the artists responsible for developing the style of ...

, who adopted his occupation of painting. Mir Musavvir moved to

from

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

. The regional source of his style is evident in his illustrations from the 1520s, for example the painting "Ardashir and the Slave Girl Gulnar" of 1527–8 that he produced for the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp; the compositions are carefully constructed, with much attention given to architectural elements and the accurate depiction of objects such as lamps, bowls and ewers. By the 1530s, however, as part of the synthesis of eastern and western Iranian styles of painting, Mir Musavvir’s illustrations became “more broadly conceived and dramatic” and ceased to contain an abundance of minute details. As well as manuscript illustrations, Mir Musavvir produced single-page paintings to be included in albums known as Muraqqas, for example the portrait “Sarkhan Beg the Table-steward”. By November 1549, Mir Musavvir and his son

had left Iran for the

court at

. Shah

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 until his death in 1576. He was the eldest son of Shah Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Tahmasp ascended the throne after the ...

was likely willing to release them only because he himself was no longer actively patronizing them. According to the contemporary chronicler

Dust Muhammad Dust Muhammad (or Doust Muhammad) was a Persian painter of miniatures, calligrapher, and art historian, active from about 1510 to 1564. Later in life he worked in India. Early career Dust Muhammad was born in Herat in the late 15th century, al ...

, Mir Musavvir and

Aqa Mirak Aqa Mirak ( Persian: آقا میرک) (fl. 1520 – Qazvin, 1576) was a Persian illustrator and painter. Life Aqa Mirak was a painter, purveyor and companion to the Safavid shah Tahmasp I and was well known in contemporary circles. Initially l ...

worked together closely in service to the

royal library, producing wall paintings for the palace of Prince Sam Mirza and illustrations for the royal manuscript of the ''Khamsa'' of Nizami of 1539–43. Mir Musavvir's signature is on a courtier's turban in the painting "Manuchihr Enthroned" of the ''Shahnameh'' of Shah Tahmasp, and a verse couplet written in the

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

depicted in the illustration "Nushirwan and the Owls" of the 1539–43 ''Khamsa'' manuscript attributes the painting to Mir Musavvir and dates it to 1539–40.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musavvir, Mir 1576 deaths 16th-century Iranian painters Painters from the Mughal Empire Iranian miniature painters Year of birth unknown 16th-century Mughal Empire people