Social Approaches to Studying the Artworks of Sultan Mohammad Using Principles of Islamic Art

Whilst preserving rules and principles of Islamic art and maintaining a celestial aura, in Safavid era Sultan Mohammad demonstratesunprecedented values in his paintings;he focuses on his contemporary social occurrences, namely tyranny and injustice, ina fantasist (unrealistic) atmosphere by manipulating forms and colors, avoiding empty space and using ornamental details, particularly through his choice of metamorphosis. Thus the article surveys the inward aspects or in other words expressionistic aspects in a scenery seemingly “unrealistic” and to that end we describe and analyze the images which Sultan Mohammad the painter uses in his works and “secretly” reveals the rigidified and transfigured faces of the man – under the pretense of a scene apparently (imaginary). In fact as part of the results of this survey images beside celestial figures – apart from his fantasist imagery – depict social and protesting aspects and consist of the combination of these two worlds (celestial and terrestrial)in a single scene – and reach a theme profounder than the predetermined title suggests. Furthermore, answers are sought here to questions such as whether the circumstances of his time and tyranny over people causedthe depiction of suchingeniousscenes, or these images are merely regarded as decorative achievements. Finally, to find out the consequences of this approach and to conclude the research, body parts and faces depicted by him in some of his paintings are referred to, through which he expresses his intentions: bodies and faces in his imagery fall into three categories: 1.The portrayal of supernatural and heavenly faces borrowed from the world of ideas, or in other words, the world of Suspended Faces. 2.The merging of animal bodies and human faces or vice versa, for instance in case of prophet of Islam’s stallion (Boragh) or devils and demons which leads to his version of Strange Creatures or mythography. 3.The facial representations expressing humans’ inner moods or in other words his contemporary people’s mental-spiritual moods. Since the results of this research are expected to unveil the structure of his paintings, some of his beautiful works are addressed here Research Method descriptive-analytic,Data used: printed material.