Form, Expression, and Meaning in Persian Miniature Based on the Religious and Mystical Views of Titus Burckhardt and Seyyed Hossein Nasr

Pure religious and mystical thoughts in the minds of Muslim artists have led to the emergence of a common spirit in all Islamic artworks. Understanding the nature and purpose of Islamic art in the last century has attracted the attention of many scholars and researchers and their studies have led to various theories about the philosophy and wisdom of transcendent Islamic art. Titus Burckhardt and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, including intellectuals who use a traditional approach based on religious and mystical views to explain what, why and how Islamic art - architecture, applied arts and visual arts. The question is: Islamic miniature of Iran based on traditionalist thinkers such as Titus Burckhardt and Seyyed Hossein Nasr on what features are similar to other Islamic Arts? In this study, the visual and content characteristics of the Islamic miniature of Iran are explained based on the religious and mystical views of Titus Burckhardt and Seyyed Hossein Nasr and the degree of similarity of Iranian miniature in form, expression, and meaning with other Islamic arts has been studied. Accordingly, after collecting some of Titus Burckhardt’s and Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s theories on Islamic art and examining several Islamic era miniatures through surveying and documenting, the data obtained have been drafted in a descriptive and comparative method. Finally, data analysis was performed using inductive reasoning. Based on the findings of the research, elements such as form, color, specialization, non-representation and use of writing (in the form of poetry) have given Iranian miniature, like other forms of Iranian art and architecture, special meaning. On the other hand, the form, expression, and meaning of Islamic miniature in Iran are in line with the mystical and religious views of Titus Burkhardt and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and these views are not only true about non-religious and court images.