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1857, Abu'l Hasan Ghaffari, Portrait of 'Ali Qui Mirza, I'tizad al-Saltana -- Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)

From the museum label: The inscriptions on this painting tell us the sitter is prince 'Ali Qui Mirza, I'tizad al-Saltana, fifty-fourth son of the Qajar ruler Fath 'Ali Shah, Minister of Higher Education, and Director of the Dar al-Funun academy (Iran's first modern institution of higher learning). They also identify the painter as the renowned court artist Abu'l Hasan Ghaffari. The portrait demonstrates his keen interest in capturing his subject's psychological state and his attention to detail. By the 1850s photography was widely practiced at the Qajar court and had an indelible impact on painting; the dialogue between the two arts is visible here.

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Uploaded on May 4, 2025
Taken on May 4, 2025