This paper is part of a larger project which explores the development of Iranian painting under the late Qadjar Shahs (1796-1925) until the reign of the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty, Reza Shah (1925-1941). Taking a historical perspective, the project aspires to determine the socio-political factors that led to the Iranian contemporary painting, successor to centuries of brilliant Persian miniature painting.
Under the Qadjar Shahs painting was limited only to the court. Reza Shah Pahlavi was the monarch who, despite his almost complete lack of formal education in that field, strove in the 1930s for the all-around renaissance of the arts of Iran. He supported the restoration of the archaeological monuments of the country, the rehabilitation of Iranian traditional arts - such as making brocades or lacquered boxes - and was interested in realistic painting of western inspiration, introduced in the late nineteenth century in Iran, which he considered a "gateway" to Western-style development. The important status he gave to culture and art during his reign deserves to be noticed. Yet why is it that modernist art did not arise in the country during his time, while other attributes of modernity appeared? Indeed, if by that time Iranian painters were already studying in Europe and exhibiting in Parisian galleries, how can we explain the fact that modernist art emerged only after 1945 in Iran? In short, what was the impact of the reign of Rezâ Shâh on Iranian contemporary art?
Under his reign, the nature of the artistic and cultural expression points to the emergence of a new nationalist spirit. Art is propelled to the forefront of the state. A huge work of re-appropriation of the national heritage is being undertaken by Reza Shah. This period is characterized by the rediscovery and preservation of a legendary heritage. Reza Shah aspired to tradition rooted in a glorious artistic past, to successfully build a nation-state.