Analysis of a Historical Fantasy: Image of Yusuf and Zulaikha"

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Article Type:
Research/Original Article (دارای رتبه معتبر)
Abstract:
Persian painting, in all historical periods, has been institutionally affiliated with the royal palaces and courts in which pleasure, amusement, and sexual desires were highly regarded leading the painters to sometimes reflect them in their works. A psychoanalytic reading over the past centuries, especially in its socio-historical context, has been rarely considered by researchers; therefore, this kind of research is necessitated significantly. Yusuf and Zulaikha painting by Behzad in 1488A.D is one of the acme points of the history of Persian painting and that is why it has been highly taken into consideration by researchers. Here, a question might be raised and that is: why? Does the importance of this painting depend on the form and technical features? Or is it related to the transcendental attitude towards Yusuf as a prophet in the story itself? Apart from chronological and descriptive research regarding this painting and Behzad`s life and techniques as a painter, most of the previous analytical research mainly considered this painting through mystical and religious studies and analyzed it accordingly, since it is a highly important story in the Torah and Quran. However, if, regardless of these metaphysical considerations, one sees this scene as a fantasy in the subconscious or unconscious and emphasizes materialistic, mundane, and sexual features, what would the result be? Moreover, what do the results cause in Persian painting in further periods? To achieve this goal, a different theoretical foundation is necessitated. Psychoanalytical theories, as the approach of this research, provide an appropriate point of view for analyzing this painting and it also helps the readers understand the scene differently. The conceptual framework of this paper is based on Freud`s and especially Lacan`s psychological ideas. Authors try to do a descriptive and then a synthetic analysis to find more about the subject critically. The visual culture of a society regarding paintings, as historical and cultural texts, is an appropriate ground for scrutinizing sexual terms and relations; provided that, we consider visuality as an equivalent for discourse, not only regarding the text and speech but deeming visual cases as well. Results suggest that this painting, due to the visual features and structure as well as special characteristics of the history of visual culture concerning the representation of sexuality, provides a specific image or a fantasy for the desire and anxiety of the subject dialectically (viewer, individual, or collective) based on the imaginary and symbolic order, as Lacan suggested, according to all psychological process behind that. Having all the visual effects in a historical path, the scene is a turning point to form a sexual visuality dominated in further periods in the history of Persian painting, especially in the mid-Safavid era. The final purpose of this essay is to propose a new idea and provide a different position for relevant subjects such as sexuality, representation, and sexual identity in historical Persian paintings. From this point of view, other Persian paintings of later periods can be psychoanalytically studied in their social, cultural, and historical contexts regarding sex and sexuality.
Language:
Persian
Published:
Journal of Fine Arts, Volume:27 Issue: 4, 2023
Pages:
51 to 65
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