Subject and Theme Typology of the Azure Paintings in the Western Room of the Akhavan-e- Haqiqi House in Isfahan belonging to the Qajar Period

Akhavan-e- Haqiqi house has a number of similarities with other historical houses of this city, but it is among the most notable and outstanding examples of such houses which construction is ascribed to the Qajar period. Thus, considering the significance of this house with respect to architectural design, especially the notable aesthetic values of its various decorations, by focusing on mural paintings, especially the numerous small azure paintings in the butterfly cells (Shaparaki, in Farsi) of the murals and muqarnases of ceiling of the room, located at the western  side of the house, that are  similar to the series of fine landscapes on the geometric forms of the muqarnases in other rooms,  it is observed that they are among the paintings that, in addition to design, space, technique, and execution, are in contrast with other paintings of several adjacent levels in terms of subject matter; themes and designs that reflect the cultural context and the requirements of  the Qajar era.
As mentioned, these paintings mostly consist of natural landscapes and events of everyday life, some of which are in the form of pure natural landscapes while others are the result of combination with various animal and human designs.
 With respect to subject and considering the environment, these paintings are prominently different from traditional painting and original symbolic art of Iran which is still present in neighboring surfaces, and this matter shows the eclectic nature of Qajar painting as well as modern naturalistic disposition of this art.
These small paintings are called “Bedahenegari” or “Bedahesazi” due to their special and distinguished features so that these paintings are completely incongruent with conventional ornamentalism of neighboring surfaces. With respect to artistic method, these landscape paintings are naturalistic. Technique of performance is modeling and chiaroscuro method. Contrary to other paintings, these paintings have been drawn with a single color (azurite blue) and regarding their color value, they are complementing other neighboring warm-colored surfaces. Another feature of these paintings is the use of watercolor technique with transparent layers.
It seems the painter has used a kind of impromptu and has abstained from the rule of symmetry, adjusting the motifs with the whole architectural space and use of sketch.
 He has often violated the rule of symmetry and painted with a kind of freedom of action and mind which somehow remind the viewer of children’s painting. Thus, he has used different motifs, subjects, themes and techniques on symmetrical surfaces.
The present study has been conducted due to the lack of information regarding the literature review and to keenly bestow the proper attention which has not been paid to this subject yet. These are the artistic works which have been largely ignored, so the necessity of this research became evident. Accordingly, while referring to the significance and extraordinary and unique values of these paintings, the study seeks to answer the following question: What are the subjects and themes of the schemes used in these pictures? This research focuses on the typology of subject and themes of the azure mural paintings in the western room.
 This research aims to document, investigate, identify, classify, describe and explain the features of azure mural paintings via direct observation and descriptive-explanatory method.
The type of sampling was purposeful and used the homogeneous sampling method. Furthermore, data analysis was performed based on the detailed classification and typology of the subject and theme. The statistical population consisted of 1358 azure paintings including: 436 human-centered landscapes, 330 animal-centered landscapes, 592 landscapes with a combination of humans, animals, buildings and etc.
 The painter’s use of certain literary themes (allegorical, historical, folk, mythological etc) is evident as well as attention to nature, natural themes and everyday events mixed with a kind of abstractionism and visualization of internal and personal worlds and states (simultaneous attention to internal and external worlds), and technique of free embossing. Also, lack of attention to details and Sadenegari (or stylization) with a kind of false perspective and dramatic chiaroscuro (simultaneous two-dimensional drawing and dramatic modeling), mostly symmetrical composition of works and displaying of humans and animals in a conventional balance (from opposite angle and at the center of plaque) are exhibited.
The research results show that the topics and themes of azure landscape paintings have been drawn including various social, folk, historical, literary, imaginary, fantasy and mythical themes, especially natural themes, and it seems that they have been representative of the cultural values, folklore, beliefs, customs and traditions as well as conditions of life in the Qajar  period.