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What Is Persian
Calligraphy?
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Siah Mashq-Nataliq |
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According to Persian mythology, God is like a painter who has
painted the world with his PEN and beautiful colors. Calligraphy
is considered a form of high art in Islamic culture. It's
association with the Koran has made it the most important and widely
recognized form of Islamic art. The term "Islamic Art" is broadly
defined. It may refer to a body of art related to Islamic religion,
or to secular art created in parts of the world where Islam is
practiced.Nastaliq, a beautiful Iranian art form and
calligraphic style with an ancient provenance. In this era of
globalization,
Kelk is offered in
the hope that establishing a cultural dialogue might generate peace,
goodwill and greater understanding among people of diverse
backgrounds, around the world. Kelk is a bridge and vehicle to share
one the most interesting forms of Iranian calligraphy, Nastaliq,
with the rest of the world.
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Calligraphy History
The history of calligraphy is very long, dating all the way back to
the “Upper Paleolithic Period” when man communicated with a series
of grunts. Cave paintings, which were painted by paying meticulous
attention to detail, were perhaps a way of communication. As humans
developed, those pictures became the symbols of man’s thought. The
hieroglyphics in the ancient art of Egypt was the climax of
communicating with pictures.
Calligraphy as we know it today began with the invention of paper in 105 C.E in China. Centuries later the Moslems spread the knowledge of papermaking from the East through Europe and the Mediterranean world, where it gradually replaced parchment papyrus. From that time and many centuries after, books were beautifully written by calligraphers on paper. Before Islam, Arabs had a form of writing, called “Kofi.” It was derived from two other forms, Nabti and Seryan. Kofi was the basic form of Islamic calligraphy that other forms are descended from. In the fourth century H. Gh.(Hegira Ghamari), 1000 years ago, Abne Moghlah Byzai Sherazi wrote the principles of all those descendant forms, such as Mohaghagh, Rehan, Nask, Sols, Regha, and Toghi. He also mentioned 12 elements of writing, which were composition, line, relationship, narrowness, wildness, surface, rotation, dignity, grace, ascent, and descent. A century after Moghalh, Ali Abn Helal wrote the principles for a new form called Naskh which made it more delicate and beautiful than previous forms. The seventh century H. Gh. was the century of Taliq, still another form of Islamic calligraphy. All official ducouments were written in Taliq. Taliq was a combination of two other forms of existing caligraphy,Naskh and Regha. Taj Soltani and Abdo lhae Monshieh Astarabadi wrote its principles and perfected it.
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When Islam spread throughout other cultures and countries, where the people did not speak Arabic, variant forms of the Arabic alphabet were created. In Iran, calligraphers combined two existing forms, Naskh and Taliq, and created a beautiful form, which was called Naskhtaliq. Naskhtaliq had a gradual development that Persian calligraphers effectively changed and perfected. Among them were Zaheruden Mer Ali Tabrizi, Jaefar Baysonghori, Zaheruden Azhar, Hafez Haji Mohamad and Naser Baysonghori. Through the skills of Sultan Ali Mashhadi, Sultan Ali Ghaeni, Shah Mohammad Mashhadi, Shah Mahmoud Neishapuori, Sultan Mohammad Nour, Mer Ali Heravi, Malek Deilami, Shadishah Asfahani and Mohammad Hosin Tabrizi, Naskhtaliq grew. But Naskhtaliq was truly perfected in the year 1000 H. Gh., or almost four hundred and forty years ago in the age of King Abbas. He was considered the greatest of the Safavid rulers. Under the rule of Shah Abas, Iran reached new heights of power, prosperity, and opulence; therefore the arts also progressed. One the most famous Iranian calligraphers in this period was Mer Amad. He is important because his works represent the highest-developed form of Naskhtaliq, which is still being used by calligraphers today. He introduced a new perspective to Naskhtaliq. Later, Naskhtaliq, for smoother prounciation, became known as Nastaliq.
Calligraphy now is the art of linear graphics; it restructures one’s visualization of a language and its topography. Nastaliq is the best marriage of these elements and has been welcomed among Persian speakers even to the present day.
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Shekasteh Nastaliq |
Shekasteh Nastaliq
Shikasteh (broken) is a form of Nastaliq that was created to
improve speed. There are two kinds of shikasteh, script
where the characters are very close together and interlaced, while
in shifih the letters are widely spaced and
individualized. Shifih script, which is a derived from Nastaliq,
the letters interlock in kind of a lovers' embrace.
Nastaliq & Painting
Perhaps the most profound impact of the Mongol invasions on the
arts of Iran was the new role of manuscript illustration, which
became a significant and influential forum for country patronage.
Beginning in the early fourteenth century, the main focus of
Ilkhanid patronage was historical works and epic poems. The former
were written expressly for the dynasty, whose history and
achievements they glorified, while the latter represent the
continuation of an existing genre, exemplified by the Iranian
national epic, the Shahnama, which tells of the pre-Islamic kings
and heroes of Iran.
The early fourteenth-century versions of the Shahnama were copied
and illustrated in Tabriz, the Ilkhanid capital, as well as in
Baghdad and in Shiraz, in southern Iran.
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A specific style of
painting is associated with each of these centers for manuscript
production, yet all early fourteenth - century Shahnama
illustrations share certain basic features, many of which persist
in subsequent manuscript illustration. What it is observable is
that these paintings represent the style of Mongols, but later
Iranian made illustrations for books that they represented as art
of Iran. Kamaleden Behzad is one of the most famous painters who
created works completely different from before.
Today, calligraphy presents in quite a new perspective.
Calligraphers are trying to make a new form of calligraphy to be
separated of literature and also to have all qualities of a visual
art. It is true that most of that thriving have failed, because
literature and calligraphy have matched for centuries and
separation between them can’t be easy. There are also successful
works that their artists have used the visual elements of art, we
can identify lines, shapes, value, colors, motion, and even
textures in the beautiful composition. Unfortunately from those
works we can’t deduce any other possibilities which other artists
can follow and explore. Forms, colors, and compositions are being
repeated as it seems to be more inflexible. But far from that, in
this new view the ultimate concern of artists is to design a
beautiful composition rather than sending the poet’s message.
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