The Influence of Politics on the Qajar Iconography

Different social and political developments of Qajar period made a new area in the realm of Iranian art. This art emerged and developed in the era in which not only Iran but also other countries were undergoing great social, political, economic, industrial, artistic and cultural changes. On one hand, these Developments and changes threatened and challenged the artistic and cultural traditions of large part of nations and on the other hand provoked different reactions in various cultural areas. Iranian paintings, which were often accompanied by surrealistic and mystical concepts, suddenly lost their content in the Qajar period and were replaced by worldly and realistic concepts. In this research, it was tried to descriptively analyze historical documents which considered the reasons of creating iconography and factors influencing it and also study its characteristics and values at the time of the Qajar ruling. Qajar paintings and illustrations were studied based on their importance as well as their social and political role. To evaluate Qajar painting, it was tried to analyze how the paintings were applied to approve the power of the king during the Qajar monarchy. Thereafter, the other part of this paper was dedicated to the role of the Qajar kings in expressing their beliefs and rituals by taking advantage of the paintings. Iranian cultural and cooperative relation with Europe and its impact on the painting were also another part of this research. This paper was also aimed at introducing new aspects of the art of this era considering its political and social changes.