Representation of Women in Iranian Painting (Case Study: Safavid and Qajar Paintings)

International Journal of Innovative Research in the Humanities Vol.1, NO.3 , P: 91 - 110 Received : 19 July 2021 Accepted : 12 August 2021 Representation of Women in Iranian Painting (Case Study: Safavid and Qajar Paintings) Sama Moazami* recognizing the characteristics and Graduate of Master of Social Sciences, developments of the female image in different Kharazmi University, Tehran epochs of painting, and by referring to some [email protected] works, we examined the images. In the works Shahla Bagheri Mayab of pre-Qajar painting epochs, women often had Associate Professor, Department of Social an exemplary and mythical status and has been Sciences, Kharazmi University, Tehran depicted in terms of unnatural design and its [email protected] visual value has been like other elements of Robabeh Ghazali painting. But at the end of Safavid epoch, due Assistant Professor, Department of Costume to the connection with the West, we are Design, Al-Zahra University, Tehran witnessing a change in the type of attitude [email protected] towards painting, and as a result there is a change in naturalistic in depicting the body of women, as well as in the formation of monographs, which led to a different image of Abstract women than before in Iranian painting. During Iranian painting has undergone many changes the Qajar epoch, due to the strong influences of during different historical epochs. These Western art and naturalistic methods and developments are due to factors such as social, painting techniques of the West, as well as political, cultural, religious and the tastes of using realistic painting of the West and the kings in relation to the Far East and the West. symbolic and miniature aspects of Iran, a This descriptive-analytical research, which is different art was formed in Iran . based on Fiske's semiotic approach and Keywords: Representation, Female Image, according to the views and theories of Stuart West, Qajar Epoch, Safavid Epoch. Hall's representation, uses a qualitative content analysis and visual reading and textual- pictorial data. The purpose of this study was to Introduction investigate the female element in terms of Art in any epoch is the manifestation of meaning and content in Iranian paintings and thoughts, beliefs, ideas, customs and traditions, also to identify the causes and factors of and in short, the culture of a nation that changes in the social and cultural status of originates from the worldview of that nation. women in order to identify their true place in Therefore, by examining the works of art of a historical epochs. It also examines these nation in any historical epoch, one can find images in Qajar and Safavid epochs due to valuable information about culture, its roots of their connection with the West, which was a growth or decline. This indicates the key point kind of traditional and modern duality that art is related to its time (Zaboli Nejad, appeared in the social, cultural and artistic 2008: 157). relations of the society and it has an influential One of the cases that can be considered in the trend on the status of women. In this study, by study of motifs is the woman as a member of 91 society who has always been of special interest (Shayestehfar, Khazaei, Abdolkarimi, 2014), in literature and art, representing and depicting "Comparative study of women's clothing in each of the natural, human and imaginative Safavid travelogues and paintings "(Vali elements in such works is based on the attitude Ghojagh, Mehrpooya, 2018)," Study of and inference of society and artists towards women's social presence and the evolution of these elements. In the Safavid epoch and with clothing in Safavid paintings "(Taghavi, the arrival of Europeans in Iran and the Mousavi, 2013)," Comparison of women's influences that the West had on Iranian art, we image in India in Safavid and Qajar epoch – are witnessing the depiction of more and more Case Study sample: Painting"(Rezaei, Nazari women. This trend continued until later Arshad, Tahmasebizadeh and Askar in Safavid epochs, especially the Qajar epoch, and Epochs with Emphasis on the Works of Reza gradually it is gaining more influence from Abbasi" (Mohebbi, Ghavam and Ranjbar, Western art. By examining the paintings and 2017), "Hasbiyeh for Women" (Variji and murals of the Safavid and Qajar epochs, we Momeni, 2016), "Visual gender ideology in the will encounter the specific features of each works of male and female painters on the epoch in representing the role of women . subject of women's portraits in the last six The purpose of this study is to investigate the decades of Iran" (Sojudi and Tabatabai Yazdi, element of woman in terms of meaning and 2015), and "Representation of women in the content in Iranian paintings and also to identify works of contemporary Iranian women the causes and factors of changes and painters - emphasizing the sexual view on developments in the social and cultural status woman (Shariati Mazinani and Sadeghi, 2011), of women in order to identify their true place "The evolution of social and cultural in historical epochs. The questions we are conditions of women in the Safavid and Qajar looking for are: epochs" (Dehghani, Dadvar and Davoodi, 1. The female element in terms of meaning 2015) "Top examples in Iranian painting - and content in Iranian paintings has been coffee house painting" (Musos Khameneh, reflected and represented changes and 2009), that none of them has examined the perceptions of its contemporary society in element of woman in terms of meaning and different historical epochs? content in Iranian paintings, and they don't 2.What are the causes and factors of changes identify the causes and factors of its changes in the appearance, position and perception of that have been studied in this treatise. society of women's personality in Iranian paintings in the Safavid and Qajar epochs and Representation what effects has the relationship with the West The concept of "representation" is one of the and the modern world had on it? key concepts in the study of all types of works From the published articles in this field, we can of art. According to the representational mention these cases: The Struggle of Qajar approach, objects, people, events, and Women: Individuality, the World of Tradition phenomena must be represented in order to and Its Transition ”(Torabi Farsani, 2009),“ A become reality, and this is possible through Study of the Role of Women in Qajar their entry into language. In this regard, as Photography ”(Tayi, 2008),“ A Look at the Stuart Hall (1997) explains, language does not Everyday Life of the Iranian People in the Late mean English, Chinese, and the like, but Qajar Epoch ”(Mahdavi and language in the sense of its community; That AhmadzadehNodijeh, 2013), "Study of the is, body language, written language, spoken social status of women and children in the language, image language, music language or epoch of Shah Tahmaseb Safavid based on the number language. In this way we give adaptation of drawings of Shahnameh meaning to things by the way we represent Tahmasebi and Jami's Haft Orang..." them, by the words we use for them, the stories 92 we tell about them, the images we create of • Structural theories them, the emotions we attribute to them, the Accordingly, Hall mentions the three concepts, classification methods we use for them; By objects, and signs within the system of doing so, we conceptualize them or assign language, and believes that a set of processes values to them. relate these three senses to each other. Hall Today, the concept of representation has a calls this process "representation" and, based prominent place in cultural studies. on such an idea, believes that meaning is the Representation connects meaning and substructure of representational systems. language. Representation is usually defined as According to this view, representation is a meaningfulness through the use of signs and central act that produces the culture and is a concepts and the use of one thing instead of key step in the culture cycle. Hall argues that another with the aim of conveying meaning reality does not exist in a meaningful way and (Milner, 2006: 333). In other words, the introduces representation as one of the key representation is the intrinsic process of ways of producing meaning that is exchanged production and the exchange of meaning and distributed among members of a culture between the components of a culture which (Mehdizadeh, 2008: 22) . requires the use of language, symbols, and Thus, the concept of "representation" is how a images to represent things. Representation, social reality is manifested and emerged. To then, is one of the cultural practices in which illustrate the relationship between these participants are in a culture that gives representation, meaning, language, and meaning to people, objects, and events . culture, Hall tries to express different The concept of representation owes much to perceptions of representation in a general the works of Stuart Hall; he mentions the three category . concepts, objects, and signs within the system 1. Reflective theory: Representation reaches of language and believes that a set of processes zero. There is what is depicted, meaning that in these three categories are interrelated (Kafi, reality is within the object, person, idea or 2016). Hall calls this process "representation" event in the real world . and, based on such an idea, believes that 2. Intentional theory: There is no reflection and meaning is made up of systems of everything is a will, the painter shows representation. In Stuart Hall's view, whatever he wants and there is no reality. representation is the use of language to 3. The theory of constructivism: According to produce meaningful points about the world; this theory, according to Hall, the media are Meaning does not exist in essence, but is made, not like a mirror that reflects what is in society and it is the result and product of a signification (reflection theory) nor does it consider media procedure.

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