Reflecting the Philosophical Components of Mulla Sadra in the Content and Form Elegance of "Isfahan School" Paintings

Problem Definition: 

In his philosophical components, Mulla Sadra expressed elegance in such a way that the influence of these thoughts was reflected in the artworks of the Safavid era, especially in the "Isfahan Painting School". The most important artistic trend of this school was formed by Reza Abbasi and his students; in their works, motifs and topics related to the surrounding world and the cultural-artistic society of that time can be seen. In terms of the use of visual elements as well as the content, it corresponds to the philosophical-mystical components of Mulla Sadra, especially in the viewpoints related to beauty and love. The paintings and Muraqqa pieces attributed to Reza Abbasi and his followers form the statistical community of the present research, which are studied to evaluate how the "philosophical components of Mulla Sadra" appear in the paintings of the Isfahan school. The question of the research is: "What is the relationship between the philosophical components of Mulla Sadra and Isfahan school painting in terms of elegance by focusing on Isfahan school painting works"?

 The present study aims to discover the elegance hidden in the illustrated works of the Isfahan school of painting and to match them with Mulla Sadra's views on beauty.

 This study applies a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach, which was done by collecting library-documentary data. The statistical population includes a selection of the most distinguished paintings and Muraqqas of the Isfahan school, which were created by Reza Abbasi and his students.

The obtained data shows the elements used in the paintings and Muraqqas attributed to Reza Abbasi and his students are a reflection of elegance in both form and content, which can be traced to the mystical philosophical components of Mulla Sadra. In these works, the external and internal beauties, some of which are shown as codes and symbols, show the social-cultural situation of the Safavid period and the philosophical-mystical thoughts of that time. In other words, the works of Reza Abbasi and his students, as an outstanding example of the Isfahan school of painting, are related to the components of Mullah Sadra in terms of elegance.