The Ontology of Nature in the Paintings of Shahnameh Tahmasebi from the Perspective of Mulla Sadra

An important part of the ontology of Persian painting goes back to its mythological themes. Among these, Ferdowsi's Shahnameh is one of the most important texts and literature that is full of mystery from the point of imagination view and visual aspects of poetry. In Ferdowsi's exaggerations, first of all, the issue of imagination is seen in the strongest way, and for this reason, its artistic aspect is tangible. Among the myths in Shahnameh, this article deals with the myth of nature. It is worth mentioning that the most obvious example of the myth of nature is the existence of the four main elements of water, fire, wind and soil. These elements have a unique position and a transcendental and symbolic identity. The concept of "existence" or being is a mental thing, obvious and opposite to the concept of non-existence. Existence; is a truth that always comes true and in which life flows. Ontology is the science of existence because it exists. In this field, the nature of objects, because they are substance, is investigated regardless of the phenomena. Ontology deals with the nature and characteristics of the determined and definite existence and structure of reality, which plays an important role in the analysis of works, including works of art. Iranian sages and philosophers had a special view on existence and ontology. Mulla Sadra believes that existence in art is formed from secret and is revealed from within. According to him, the world of art is God and the current divine creation is considered artistic. God is absolute and creates from nothing, and human being, who is the work of God, is from nothing relative and creates a relative being. Mulla Sadra has a completely artistic and aesthetic view of the world of creation. He knows all these worlds on the one hand, face and image, and on the other hand, he knows the word and the book. In fact, it is the speech and writing of God. Regarding beauty and art, he believes that instead of the ontology of art and beauty, we should focus on their ontology. Art has themes that need to be considered. These themes relate to the ontology of art and are not subject to the acceptance of a particular theory of art. In fact, the association of Iranian culture with wisdom and books causes poetry, music and painting to become religious; that is, to spread his beliefs about Islamic culture and wisdom in art. Persian poetry is understandable music, when music becomes poetry, poetry is created in the artist's mind and then becomes sounds, fictional poetry is processed, but when imagination becomes objectivity, it becomes a painting, in fact, painting is the same as illustrated poetry.  There is a special relationship between Iranian art and poetry, both based on Iranian wisdom. Iranian painting is an art that has been influenced by literature more than other arts, especially Ferdowsi's Shahnameh. From mythology; the four elements of nature in Shahnameh have symbolic and symbolic features in the mythical world that the creation of the world begins with the emergence of these elements of existence. By rotating themselves, these four elements preserve the system of nature and the essence of creation, and with their mythological and symbolic concepts, create the existence of poetry and its affected works, including Persian painting. Aware of the sacred and life-giving background of these elements in Iranian culture and civilization, Ferdowsi has given these elements a transcendental and symbolic identity. In his masterpiece, these elements are not just one substance, but all have an identity with a soul and an authority beyond the algebra of nature that help the hero in various stages of his life. They rush to their aid and protect them from evil agents. One of the best and most superior examples of Shahnameh during the history of Persian painting, a great masterpiece; is Tahmabesi Shahnameh. The Persian painter is a creative painter who has avoided mere imitation of the manifestations of nature and has presented his paintings in an allegorical way in a heavenly and transcendental atmosphere. In fact, the way of existence of these works is different from the way of existence of real lords, and their existential foundation is not only in pure consciousness, but they are derived from imagination and the world of allegory. The present study is one of the four elements of existence in nature; the transcendent wisdom has dealt with the two elements of wind and soil, which have more complex symbolism, visually and aesthetically, as well as analyzing and applying their symbolic meanings influenced by the principles of Islamic mysticism. Wind; It is one of the elements of existence in nature and the air in its active and violent aspects, and because of the connection between the creator's breath and exhalation, it has been considered as one of the main elements. Wind is the most delicate and imperceptible element of the four elements; it is the only invisible element that has great power on which the life of all beings in the universe depends. The wind is the most intense and at the same time the most invisible element of nature. In air painting, like a breeze, it is a refreshing manifestation of an imaginary and mythical world in spring weather. The air is the same as the wind, the most obvious manifestation of which is the painting of the same element of the cloud. Cloud in Iranian paintings is majestic, beautiful, fluid, dynamic and circulating, and is a sign of fertility and growth and an allegory of occult relief. In Iranian painting, clouds are usually innovative and unnatural in terms of visual aesthetics and are seen with a twisted and wavy state. Among the four elements, soil is the most immobile and effortless element. The soil is dry, cold and dense, passive and heavy. It is a symbol of fertility. The earth is a symbol of maternal duties. Gives life and takes it back. The earth is the place where plants grow. The Iranian painter inspires space on a two-dimensional surface without a linear perspective. He depicts a wide horizon with colorful flowers, plants and shrubs that have grown all over the earth, creating an imaginary and legendary atmosphere. In some mythological paintings, the mountain is also the abode of dragons. They live in valleys and mountain crevices or caves. Sometimes it is represented in light purple or blue to imagine the atmospheric perspective in the background. The purpose of this study is to discover the existential factors in the drawings of this Shahnameh and to study the concepts and symbols of these elements of existence in the studied drawings. The article's main question is that firstly, what is the relationship between Iranian and mythological aesthetics and ontology from Mulla Sadra's point of view and painting? Secondly, what is the meaningful relationship between the mythological elements of wind and soil with the ontologies of the Shahnameh? The present article is compiled by comparative-analytical method on pictures from Tahmasbi's Shahnameh by collecting materials in a library and analyzing the pictures. The findings indicate that, visually and symbolically, in these paintings, mythology and characteristics of nature as well as Islamic wisdom and mysticism have been used in order to conceptualize the story and give existence to the paintings, and the painter using this Shahnameh And also the deep concepts of Iranian wisdom and Islamic literature and mysticism of that period have given a symbolic effect to existence in painting by projecting the elements of existence.