Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ghaffari

Two young lovers and a hairdresser. Sani al Mulk, 1843, oil painting, Golestan Palace Mirza Abu'l-Hasan Khan Ghaffari Kashani (; 1814–1866) was an Iranian painter, miniature and lacquer artist, and book illustrator. When he became the Chief Court Painter, he also became known as Sani al-Mulk , meaning "the Crafter of the Kingdom." He was a student of Mihr 'Ali and a court painter in Mohammad Shah Qajar's court. After being dismissed as a court painter, he went to Europe to study, most notably in Italy. When he returned to Iran, he became the Director of Printing and Chief Illustrator for Naser al-Din Shah and earned the separate title Chief Court Painter. He supervised the illustration of a famous One Thousand and One Nights manuscript, which can be viewed today in Tehran in the Golestan Palace Library.

Family

He was born in Kashan, Iran. He was the uncle of Mohammad Ghaffari (Kamal ol-Molk), who became an acclaimed court painter during the reign of Naser al-Din Shah. He was the oldest son of Mīrzā Moḥammad Ḡaffārī, and great-nephew of Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari. In total, there were 11 significantly talented painters in his family line. There are several possibilities for his motivations to go abroad. It is not clear if he paid his own way or if he was sponsored by the court. Yale professor of Iranian studies Abbas Amanat offers three theories. One of Amanat's theories is that he went to Europe using personal funds due to the state of Iran's financial constraints and changing court politics with the demise of the Āqāsī government. These changes meant that the court commissioned fewer and smaller paintings, making it difficult for a painter to earn a living. Amanat's second theory is predicated on changes in the court order when Mīrzā Taqī Khān became the Shah's tutor and chief of the army. Because the new court order likely included promoting modern artistic culture beyond the court and in the press, Abu'l-Hasan may have been terminated as a court painter and sent to Europe by the government to learn about the art of the press. Amanat's third theory is that he was influenced to go abroad by prominent European artists in Iran at the time, including the Italian-French army engineer officer and watercolor artist Colonel F. Colombari. Some of Abu'l-Hasan's later watercolor portraits and a sketch of the crown prince in 1845 resemble the Colonel's style, suggesting that he had significant influence on him.

While in Europe, he studied mainly Renaissance masters. In 1862, a public announcement of the opening of his art academy suggested that he studied works of Master Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian. Studying during this era was mainly learning how to recreate the works of earlier artists. The copies he created indicate that he spent time in Rome, the Vatican and Florence, and Venice. The art academy that he opened followed the European model of copying previous works, which leads scholars to believe that he received a classical training at an art academy, He continued to follow the Persian pictorial tradition,

Career Abu'l-Hasan first became a Qajar court painter near the end of Mohammad Shah Qajar’s reign . His work caught the attention of the subsequent ruler, Naser al-Din Shah, who made him chief court painter and gave him the title Sani al Molk, meaning "Craftsman or Painter of the Kingdom" According to Stanislaus State professor Staci Gem Scheiwiller, he distinguished himself with "lifelike portraits of dignitaries, which convey a profound psychological intensity, such as in his work Prince Ardishir Mirza, Governor of Tehran." Today, the manuscript is preserved in the Golestan Palace in Tehran, Iran. The manuscript contains 1,134 pages and at least three miniatures per page.

Gallery

Illustrations of One Thousand and One Nights

Miniature illustrations of a Persian version of One Thousand and One Nights, created by Sani ol Molk and other artists under his supervision. 1853, Golestan Palace library.