Visual Analysis of How the Character of the Hero in the Painting of Tahmasabi’s Shahnameh

Literature can be considered the most important source of inspiration for Iranian painters. The Shahnameh also has a high place among Iranians, and the countless painting works created with the theme of the Shahnameh stories are proof of this attention. And therefore, the influence of literature on art, especially painting, cannot be denied. On the other hand, Iranian rulers in different periods tended to prepare illustrated versions of the Shahnameh and supported artists in designing this work. Tahmasabi’s Shahnameh was created at the request and with the support of Shah Ismail, and due to a large number of paintings, it gained superiority over other versions. Heroic characters in the Shahnameh are known for their excellent nature and strength of arms. But these characters are only created in literature, and finally, they make their way to paintings, and knowledge about them is very superficial. Therefore, in this research, the main issue is the visual analysis of how the hero’s character is portrayed in the painting of Tahmasbi’s Shahnameh. Focusing on the works of Tahmasbi’s Shahnameh, this research will study the visual characteristics of the heroic characters to achieve a model for designing a character with Iranian features. The research subject is four images from Tahmasbi’s Shahnameh. The current research has analyzed the data with a realistic and qualitative approach, and the library method and the phishing tool have been used to collect the data. The study is also applied in nature. The results of this research show that in the works of Tahmasabi’s Shahnameh, the hero’s character is shown in the utmost simplicity and without any particular complexity. They are not different from others and are not even more significant or prominent than others. The calmness of the face, compliance with the fitness of the limbs, firmness, stability of the body, small eyes, and small face are some of their appearance characteristics. These external characteristics are the objective embodiment of the traits Ferdowsi gave to his characters in the original text, which shows the loyalty of the painters to the original text.