An Analysis of the Ancient Relationship of the Evil Pattern with the Grotesque Concept in the Paintings of Al Bolhan by Abu Mashar Balkhi in based on Kaiser's Approach

Man has always been amazed at the struggle between good and evil. It has been the basis of philosophical thinking since the beginning until now in binary oppositions. Belief in the conflict between the two forces is the basis of the myth contemplate of all Iranian nations. Moreover, humans have long been believed to have created creatures that have intruded into man’s collective subconscious in the ancient patterns of good and evil of generations. Sometimes the faces of evil creatures in Iranian paintings have features that bring them closer to Grotesque’s notions (The deep fear that sometimes leads to humor). Structuralists such as Wolfgang Kaiser and Mikhail Bakhtin have outlined their characteristics by investigating Grotesque’s domain. Finally, this artistic style sought to describe an alien world in which power was not directed. In the meantime, unlike Bakhtin’s, Kaiser's approach focuses more on the gruesome aspect of Grotesque and is more in line with evil archetypes in Iranian paintings. Grotesque 's features can generally be summarized in incongruity, exaggeration, and anomaly of funny and ominous elements. Fear and humor are two categories that can be seen simultaneously in Grotesque, a feature that can be seen in the ancient depiction of evil patterns such as demons, goblins, and monsters in Iranian painting, and especially in the paintings of Al bolhan. The image of evil creatures in these pictures differs markedly from other creatures, and there are features in the visual reflection of evil creatures that are consistent with Kaiser's theory. Contemporaries see Grotesque as essentially a dual nature that results from contradictions and, at least in some of its forms, is a proper interpretation of the complex nature of life. Grotesque is a more or less imaginative subject that has long been a subject of art and literature. The intermingling of anomalies, wonders, laughter, horror, and, above all, imagination is one of the most influential theoretical subjects to denigrate and responding to worldly issues. In the 19th century, philosophers such as Hegel, Hugo, Simmonds, and Raskin used Grotesque in critical art and literature. Enthralled by its seemingly odd and seemingly contradictory character, they realized the importance of its social and critical philosophies and presented the first purposeful and systematic measures to describe Grotesque. Al-bolhan's book, by Abu Mashar Balkhi, preserved at Oxford's Bodleian Library, is a kind of the book of omens and contains paintings on the subject of evil beings such as the species of fairies and Iblis, and is an acceptable example of matching Grotesque’s concept from Kaizer's perspective to the ancient image of evil patterns. The purpose of this study is to identify the Grotesque in the book Al bolhan Abu Mashar Balkhi with a qualitative and descriptive-analytical approach in answering the questions of what is the relationship between the image of evil beings in the Al-bolhan paintings with the concept of Grotesque? and how Kaiser's theorems can be used to attribute Grotesque to the image of evil creatures in Al-bolhan paintings?  For this purpose, ten illustrations of this book have been purposely selected and investigated in the context of the Grotesque concept based on Wolfgang Kaiser's view. He finds it necessary to apply Grotesque in relation to religious concepts unfamiliar to the human eye and emphasizes the more frightening characteristic of Grotesque. Grotesque is not just a common caricature or a joke for Kaiser, but it also provokes contradictory emotions such as fun and fear. Here the underlying feeling evokes a kind of surprise, horror, and fear in a global presence that is in disrepair and remains inaccessible. According to Kaiser, Grotesque is not nonsense referring only to evil forces, but rather a dumb concept that refers to new or dimensional insights into existence that have either disappeared or presented images of a new era or spiritual mask. Multi-angle design, exaggeration in limbs, dynamic and free-flowing design, sideways braided lines are the axioms of Kaiser's theory that are perfectly in line with the paintings of Al bolhan. The heterogeneity of the limbs is another feature of the Grotesques seen in the paintings of Al bolhan. These pictures show a combination of different animals’ heads (goat's horn, Cat-shaped animals nose, Large Anterior Teeth, and a few eyes). Snake tail, animal hoof and sharp claws can be seen in these pictures. Everywhere the Iranian painters have encountered evil beings, they have used Grotesque to illustrate them. On the other hand, among Grotesque's theorists, Wolfgang Kaiser and her theoretical axioms are consistent with the ancient visual properties of evil patterns in Iranian painting. Meanwhile, Abu Mashar Al Balkhi's Book of Al bolhan, with more than ten illustrations on the subject of goblins, Dave and Iblis, is a notable example of the use of Grotesque Kaiser. . Enthralled by its seemingly odd and seemingly contradictory character, they realized the importance of its social and critical philosophies and presented the first purposeful and systematic measures to describe Grotesque. Al-bolhan's book, by Abu Mashar Balkhi, preserved at Oxford's Bodleian Library, is a kind of the book of omens and contains paintings on the subject of evil beings such as the species of fairies and Iblis, and is an acceptable example of matching Grotesque’s concept from Kaizer's perspective to the ancient image of evil patterns. The purpose of this study is to identify the Grotesque in the book Al bolhan Abu Mashar Balkhi with a qualitative and descriptive-analytical approach in answering the questions of what is the relationship between the image of evil beings in the Al-bolhan paintings with the concept of Grotesque? and how Kaiser's theorems can be used to attribute Grotesque to the image of evil creatures in Al-bolhan paintings?  For this purpose, ten illustrations of this book have been purposely selected and investigated in the context of the Grotesque concept based on Wolfgang Kaiser's view. He finds it necessary to apply Grotesque in relation to religious concepts unfamiliar to the human eye and emphasizes the more frightening characteristic of Grotesque. Grotesque is not just a common caricature or a joke for Kaiser, but it also provokes contradictory emotions such as fun and fear. Here the underlying feeling evokes a kind of surprise, horror, and fear in a global presence that is in disrepair and remains inaccessible. According to Kaiser, Grotesque is not nonsense referring only to evil forces, but rather a dumb concept that refers to new or dimensional insights into existence that have either disappeared or presented images of a new era or spiritual mask. Multi-angle design, exaggeration in limbs, dynamic and free-flowing design, sideways braided lines are the axioms of Kaiser's theory that are perfectly in line with the paintings of Al bolhan. The heterogeneity of the limbs is another feature of the Grotesques seen in the paintings of Al bolhan. These pictures show a combination of different animals’ heads (goat's horn, Cat-shaped animals nose, Large Anterior Teeth, and a few eyes). Snake tail, animal hoof and sharp claws can be seen in these pictures. Everywhere the Iranian painters have encountered evil beings, they have used Grotesque to illustrate them. On the other hand, among Grotesque's theorists, Wolfgang Kaiser and her theoretical axioms are consistent with the ancient visual properties of evil patterns in Iranian painting. Meanwhile, Abu Mashar Al Balkhi's Book of Al bolhan, with more than ten illustrations on the subject of goblins, Dave and Iblis, is a notable example of the use of Grotesque Kaiser.