Comparison of Visual Structure of Noah's Ark Illustrations from Tabriz I and Herat Schools to Qur'anic Narrative

The story of Noah's Ark has been a topic of interest among illustrators since ancient times due to its marvelous and unique features. The theme can be seen in works of art from the Ilkhanate and Timurid eras among others, which show the emergence of different visual elements in illustrations with the same theme, but from different times. It seems that the stylistic rules of each period and the views of the authors and patrons of these works have influenced the illustration method of this Qur'anic story. During the Ilkhanate and the Timurid periods, the support of art and culture was mixed with religious contexts. There are many similarities in the religious contexts and conditions leading to the writing of the books Jami' al-Tawarikh and Majma' al-Tawarikh. Since these two books have common features, including a historical-religious section and illustrations that are influenced by the text, and also considering that they are the first examples of teamwork among Iranian artists, the comparison and analysis of Noah's Ark illustrations in these two books can offer useful information for identifying the first examples of Qur'anic illustrations created by the tradition of teamwork of Iranian artists. This study aims to find the most faithful illustration of the Qur'anic narrative of Noah's Ark in Jami' al-Tawarikh and Majma' al-Tawarikh. The main research questions are as follows: how are visual elements (line, color, and composition) used to express this Qur'anic story in the two illustrations and which is the most faithful to the Holy Qur'an's narrative of Noah in terms of visual features. Accordingly, first, the narratives of Noah's Ark in the Holy Quran, Jami' al-Tawarikh, and Majma' al-Tawarikh were reviewed. Then, the features of Tabriz I and Herat illustration schools and also the visual elements of two paintings, as the target population, were compared in detail. The research method used in this study was descriptive-analytical-comparative. The review and data collection method was secondary research through observation and a qualitative method was used for analysis. According to the findings, the use of visual elements, and visual arrangements in the Jami' al-Tawarikh illustration of Noah's Ark do not reflect the prominent details of the Qur'anic narrative. In this illustration, Noah's Ark is in fact a boat carrying only seven people with no sign of the animal pairs. The oar and the anchor are two of its key elements, suggesting that the vessel is being sailed by its passengers. This goes against the Qur'anic narrative that the movement of Noah's Ark was by God's will. Furthermore, the foamy waters—an element of Chinese illustration—fail to reflect the violent waves of the storm or the "waves like mountain" in the Qur'anic sense. All of these go to show that the illustrator was not completely faithful to the details of the story of Noah as expressed in the Holy Qur'an. In Majma' al-Tawarikh, the illustration of Noah's Ark features more details of the Qur'anic narrative than the previous illustration. At the first glance, the use of visual elements is such that it conveys the distress and anxiety caused by the storm to the viewers. In order to express the grandeur of Noah's Ark, the illustrator has painted it such that it protrudes from the three corners of the frame, and the ark's front and sails are on the frame whereas its back is drawn under the frame. This somehow conveys the movement of the ship to the audience. In this illustration, a series of animals are depicted individually and not in pairs, which is more in line with the Qur'anic narrative compared to that of the Jami' al-Tawarikh version. The illustration also depicts Noah's disobedient son, who is hanging on to the ark as if hoping for salvation, whereas in the Qur'anic narrative he escaped from the ark. Nevertheless, the existence of this element indicates that this illustration is more similar to the Qur'anic narrative comparatively. Overall, it can be concluded that the illustration of the narrative of Noah's Ark in Majma' al-Tawarikh is more in line with the Qur'anic narrative of the story of Noah.