"Study of Urban Landscapes in the Paintings of Mahmoud Khan Malek al-Sho'ra with the Influence of Photography in the Second Period of the Qajar Era"

During the Qajar period, one of the brilliant artists was Mahmoud Khan, the king of poets, who was one of the prominent masters in painting urban landscapes. His works have different backgrounds considering his time and he is known as one of the pioneers of modern painting in Iran. Mindfulness, lighting, viewing angle, geometric connection between levels are the prominent features of his paintings. The purpose of this article is conducting an analytical study of the effect of photography on the landscapes by Mahmoud Khan Malek al-Sho'ra. The general questions in this article are as follows: 1- What are the visual features of landscapes in the works of Mahmoud Khan Malek al-Sho'ra? 2- Were the works of Mahmoud Khan Malek al-Sho'ra influenced by photography? In which sections are these influences evident? 3- The influence of Western and Iranian painting can be seen in which parts and visual elements of Mahmoud Khan Malek al-Sho'ra's works? The content of the present study is qualitative and the method of collecting information is library-based, and analyzing the landscape works of Mahmoud Khan. This research has been done by descriptive-analytical method. The importance of urban landscapes in the works of Mahmoud Khan during the Qajar period is due to the fact that he shows the new Tehran and new buildings in Tehran during the Qajar period, and his works document the buildings and landscapes of Tehran in this period. The results of this study show that Mahmoud Khan is one of the leading artists in the field of modern painting in Qajar era Iran. He shows a different type of landscape painting in the Qajar period with the influence of photography in his paintings. The important point in Mahmoud Khan's architectural paintings is the absence of human beings, kings and courtiers, and only dealing with buildings and landscapes. These paintings show the location of buildings and structures, their composition and the combination of Iranian and European art. In the backgrounds of Mahmoud Khan's works, the paintings and drawings of the earlier Qajar period can be seen in fine and segregated geometric surfaces. Mahmoud Khan's paintings of buildings show his scientific and mathematical mind as well as his knowledge of geometry and perspective. In the second half of the Qajar period, he is the point of balance between Iranian and European art. His inquisitive mind is reflected in his precise naturalization, which is evident in the provided pictures, as well as in his European view in paintings and perspective, seen from above, and punctuation. In his paintings, high skill in perspective, in-depth and accurate representation and high quality, soft and bright light, clear and correct perspective can be seen by the audience. He paints the Qajar era Tehran, which is moving towards modernization. Mahmoud Khan was aware of the principles and rules of landscape painting, form and use, one-point and two-point perspective, and he used them masterfully in his works. His knowledge of mathematics, model making of buildings, has certainly played an important role in the artist's precise artistic vision and its reflection in painting. His paintings have a photographic style and a different vision, creative mind, diversity and modernity in painting, and poetic naturalization which show his eye-catching and poetic choice of bright colors. His landscape paintings have the power of innovation, elegance, skill, and boldness in painting, that consciously use the style of realism and the combination of Iranian and European art as well as the evolution of aesthetics. He makes a difference in Qajar painting, which shows his artistic genius and philosophical vision. Iranian spirit, perspective and the effects of Westernism, and the influence of Iranian painting can be seen in his paintings and works of other painters in this period of gardens and the palaces that depicted royalty like the work of Yahya Ghaffari, son of Sani al-Mulk and Abu Turab Ghaffari, but none of them had the power and skill of Mahmud Khan, and none of them worked with watercolor technique so brilliantly and beautifully with such a great process. Most of their works were designed and produced in lithography, so the colorful nature of Mahmud Khan's watercolor works and his knowledge of color set him apart from the others. It distinguishes him from his generation. The most important part of his artistic activity is magical lighting, subtle and rich processes and spots, and original and brilliant painting. At a time when artists were mostly courtiers and worked in sculpture and portraiture, he turned to inanimate nature, landscape painting and design of the interior and exterior of buildings, and chose a theme as the main subject of his painting. While other artists had been the fringes of their craft, he achieved a personal and different style in the art of watercolor painting that is not seen in the paintings of other artists. His works, while being influenced by Iranian art, have a different feature, and that is generalization versus partiality in Iranian art.