Cleveland Museum of Art

Sleeping Youth (verso), Illustration from a Single Page Manuscript

Riza-yi Abbasi

Date

early 1600s

Medium

opaque watercolor and gold on paper

Culture

Iran, Isfahan, Safavid period (1501-1722)

Department

Islamic Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Iranian painter Riza ‘Abbasi spearheaded the new style with single figures, receding space, and partial modeling, influenced by European travelers to Iran and painters who accompanied foreign embassies, one being John the Dutchman who in 1626 painted narrative scenes on palace walls of Shah ‘Abbas I. This sleeping youth displays a prestigious sash and has removed his equally opulent turban. Paintings like this frequently illustrated collections of verses about love and beauty; these themes often appear to serve as allegories of things divine.

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