Investigation of the Themes and Concepts of Good and Evil Visual Symbols in the Lithographic Printing Version of Toufan Al-Buka

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 MA in Islamic Art, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

2 Member of the faculty (Associate Professor), Department of Islamic Art, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

10.22070/negareh.2023.14806.2827

Abstract

The scenes of battle and epic in Toufan Al-Buka are a clear manifestation of the conflict between right and wrong and represent the conflict between good and evil. Artists, illustrators of the Qajar period, using the method of symbolization, portrayed the concepts of good and evil in symbolic human, animal and visual elements. The existing ones have manifested Belief in the problem of good and evil in Iranian Persian literature, epic poems, national poems and other religious books. Islam has been reflected and many congregations have appropriated Persian lithographic and illustrated copies. In the narrations of this book, the conflict between good and bad is visible. The aim of this article is to examine the characteristics of the images and the concepts of the symbols of good and evil, as well as to study the design features and characterizations of the mentioned images. The present research is to find the answers to these questions: 1- What are the characteristics of pictorial symbols of "good and evil" used in the pictures in terms of image and meaning? 2- What are the design features and personality processings done in the images? The research method in the current study is analytical-descriptive, and its information is obtained by conducting library research, and the statistical population is 12 samples of book images. The results obtained from the analytical and descriptive representation of symbols show that there is an image of "good and evil" in the selected paintings, which shows the symbols of "good" of infallible Imams (pbuh), Zul-Janah, Zul-Faqar, Duldul and Angels, occult aids and etc. while the symbols of "evil" infernal beings are the sword, the owner of hell, the dragon and the devil, and etc. which are meant to describe the filth, darkness And the powers of the soul which have been used. Based on the investigations of the issue in question about the characteristics of the symbol design index regarding The image of "good and evil" in the paintings, it can be said that the artists of the Qajar era according to their beliefs and beliefs of the people, by using The themes of good and evil, have tried to honestly draw simple pictures and away from any problems. Therefore, most of the compositions have been formed with a sensible and tasteful reception, with smooth lines, without respecting the real proportions and outside the scope of the formal art education system .The most important goal of the painters in showing the characters of good and evil is to convey a message from the stories, to teach and to learn from the life events. The available images have dynamic and powerful compositions with scattered, irregular and dense hash. Short limbs compared to the background, often round faces and big heads in the faces and irregular thick beards or exaggerated movements are evident as well. In the faces of evil characters exaggerated emotional reactions are observed while ideal beauty and lack of emotional response are evident in the faces of good characters. Failure to observe proportions in most images and Positional perspective with little attention to the size of figures, dynamics and expression, avoiding decorations, strong and dark distances, composition being Diffused and dense at the same time, creating dimension with less chiaroscuro or even through dotting, more correct proportions of organs, Elongation and decorations of clothes in the images of Qajar angels and women, more detailing of the background along with mesh shading and shading in most of the pictures, the considered and natural designs of humans and especially animals and related elements, the correct connection of "good and evil" characters with The existing compositions, human coverings consistent with the Qajar period, very skillful and appropriate animal design, and at the same time conveyable are evident in these pictures. In these images, the way of design, the placement of figures and dynamic compositions were obvious and the designs represent characteristics such as diversity and sometimes static texture and spatialization, animated states of the characters, and deliberate linearity, while the qualities of being dense and scattered are used to reveal sensitive situations. Non-observance of proportions and background in most images of good and evil shows that dynamism and expressiveness flow away from decorations and pays more attention to the form of order and symmetry. In symbolism, Expressive forms and other existing elements of Qajar period painting style are visible and are influenced by the characteristics of Iranian painting. The illustrators of this period mastered three skill: Firstly, designing the pictorial symbols of "good" and "evil" of humans, animals and superhuman beings, secondly, their composition, and thirdly, portraying The figures with special movements in special situations and according to the linear distance and body design of the characters, taken from Iranian painting and returning to the paintings of ancient Iran which have been performed with a special and remarkable mastery and expertise.                                                                                                                                               

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Volume 20, Issue 73
April 2025
Pages 21-40
  • Receive Date: 11 October 2023
  • Revise Date: 21 February 2024
  • Accept Date: 11 March 2024