“Nature”, the Manifestation of Sacred Place in Persian Painting Reflection of the Iranian Archetypes of "Land" and "Mountain" in Persian Painting With the Help of Mircea Eliade's Views

Landscape painting in Iran, is part of the narrative and literary context, but it has a particularly influential and distinctive look, which takes a particular look at nature and has a symbolic aspect. In one general principle of Persian painting, spring is considered for the scene and location of the adventures and their time represents an eternal state that gives it an expression of holiness. In this research, the mythological aspects of nature in the Shiraz school of painting of the 8th to 10th centuries AH are examined, which appear to be related to the themes of the creation of nature in ancient Iranian culture.
The symbols of nature and the story of creation, which are one of the most important subjects of the mythology of each culture, are represented by the specific expressions of the elements of nature and landscapes in Iranian art. The reflection of some of the "sacred place" themes in Iranian art is accompanied by evidence of nature and more in relation to the elements of "mountain" and "earth".
To this end, this study uses Eliade's view of  "sacred" in the creation myth and for the study of the Iranian myths of creation, pre-Islamic texts are referred to as the different parts of the Avesta, and in particular the "Bondahesh.
By examining the landscapes of Persian paintings from the 8th to 10th centuries AH, it is clear that the manifestation of nature in Persian painting has a common pattern that can be found through the study of the mythology of ancient Iranian creation. Usually, "the land and the mountain", along with the reference to the symbol "water" in the center, is a common combination in the various schools of Iran, which is always described in the form of spring scenery. What matters is the understanding of the existential meaning of this composition and the kind of landscape-oriented look at the mythological patterns of the mountain and the earth. It is certain that the visualization of place and time in the landscape of Persian painting does not simply imply visual perception or excitement, but rather, it represents a permanent eruption of life in images and it is a sacred place. Shining all forms of painting in light and dismissing perspective science are also for the sights. Iranian painting in a perfectionist and unifying idea portrays the images of each element of nature with their own identity and importance, and in a manner of early and eternal harmony, which portrays them as "the sanctity of nature" and the patterns of "creation" in mythology. This point approaches to Eliade's view.
Iranian landscapes sometimes have the main mythological elements of Iran's nature, such as the mountains, and especially the Alborz Mountains, which is consistent with the description of these elements in the mythological context of Iran.
Looking at the forms of expressing the landscapes and nature in Shiraz school from the 8th to 10th centuries AH, it seems that their relationship with Iranian myths and the existence of a bond between their common souls is acceptable. In this regard, the ideas of mythology of Eliade about Creation and manifestation of the sacred in the form of "ancient patterns of nature" is acceptable for the art of Persian painting. Because from the viewpoint of Eliade, the narrative myth is an event at the time of its beginning in this regard and the main task of mythology is the recurrent recall of the same incident. So the perfection that myths narrate is only at the beginning. Therefore, the identification and retrieval of "sacred samples and patterns" of nature is an aim which is pursued by the artist in order to re-establish and sustain them.
These ancient patterns are commonly used according to the taste and memory of the Iranian painters of different periods, and involved small differences in a general rule. The special expression of the naturalization of Iranian painting, and in particular the use of the fundamental elements of the creation of nature, is the same as in the mythological narratives of the Iranians, and is even referred to directly in some cases. This was more evident in the paintings of the Shiraz school and in the central Iranian area which was more loyal to ancient Iranian culture than other Iranian areas. Data were collected via library sources and examined using descriptive-analytic method.