Synopses & Reviews
In the early seventeenth century, Persia was a desirable destination for European travelers and tradesmen, who were received in its magnificent capital Isfahan bearing works of art and left with priceless handcrafted rugs and the finest silks. This exchange of luxury goods left a mark on artistic production in both countries throughout the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and is a testament to a long friendship whose history has been overshadowed in recent years by political disputes in the region.
The Fascination of Persia documents this fruitful artistic exchange, thus offering a fresh view of the two traditions in juxtaposition. Modern Teheran remains a vibrant and exciting venue for contemporary art today, and the book also foregrounds workssome previously unpublishedby seven of the citys most important contemporary artists to show that, despite difficult circumstances, the dialogue with the global art world continues.
Published to accompany an exhibition at the Museum Rietberg in Zürich and including essays by leading art historians, The Fascination of Persia investigates a little-remembered period of exchange between East and West.
Review
"The focus on Iran in an exhibition that is not only cross-cultural, but which also openly recognizes the influence of the past on the present is a welcome endeavour in the curation of Middle Eastern art. Bypassing tired narratives of religious contrasts and strained politics, it presents a fresh interpretation of a mutual relationship and fascination between two worlds often discussed, but rarely understood and appreciated." Reorient, on the accompanying exhibition at the Museum Reitberg
Synopsis
This book documents the Persian European artistic dialogue over four centuries. In particular it presents work by seven contemporary artists from Tehran and thus provides an insight into a new modern Persia in exchange with the global art world. At the same time the reader is offered a fresh view at ancient art shown in contrasting juxtaposition.
Essays by Rudolph P. Matthee, Cyrus Ala'i, Birgitt Borkopp-Restle, Paulina Banas, Michael Chagnon, Gary Schwarz, Jennifer Scarce, Claudia Swann, Susann Wintsch, and Axel Langer.
The Fascination of Persia is published in conjunction with an exhibition at Museum Rietberg in Zürich (October 2013 to January 2014).
About the Author
Axel Langer is a curator of Eastern art at the Museum Rietberg in Z�rich.
Table of Contents
Forewords
Irans Relations with Europe in the Safavid Period: Diplomats, Missionaries, Merchants, and Travel
RUDOLPH P. MATTHEE
The Work of European Cartographers in Mapping Persia or Iran in the Seventeenth Century and Earlier
CYRUS ALAI
Safavid Dress and Europe
JENNIFER M. SCARCE
The Sherleys and the Shah: Persia as the Stakes in a Rogues Gambit
GARY SCHWARTZ
Lost in Translation: Exoticism in Early Modern Holland
CLAUDIA SWAN
Persian Art and the Crafting of Polish Identity
PAULINA BANAS
Persian and Polish Sashes: Symbols of National Identity and Luxury Textiles in an International Market
BIRGITT BORKOPP-RESTLE
Between Court and Company: Dutch Artists in Persia
GARY SCHWARTZ
European Influence on Seventeenth-Century Persian Painting: Of Handsome Europeans, Naked Ladies, and Parisian Timepieces
AXEL LANGER
“Cloathd in Several Modes”: Oil-on-Canvas Painting and the Iconography of Human Variety in Early Modern Iran
MICHAEL CHAGNON
I Cant Get No Sleep: Contemporary Art in Tehran
SUSANN WINTSCH
Appendix I and II
Bibliography
Photo Credits