A Study on the Tradition of Copying in Iranian Painting of the Transition Period based on the Concept of “Appropriation”

Periods of Iranian painting, including realistic and academic painting, were postponed after the advent of modern painting in Iran. Copying the works of their predecessors, which was one of the prominent methods of these masters of painting, was highly condemned and persecuted. Hence, even with the emergence of new approaches to contemporary art and postmodernist practices such as “appropriation”, there is still much resistance to accepting and understanding such works. What can be deduced from the study of the works of Iranian artists from ancient times to the present day is that before modernism, using images of the past and copying the works of past masters have never been reprehensible in Iranian art, but has facilitated the way for mastery and becoming an artist. From the prominent traditions of Iranian art, from painting to the school of Kamal-ol-Molk, re-drawing on the images and works of former artists has always been important, and in this way, the methods of artists have always been different. Some made exact copies and remained faithful to the original work; One of the notable points in this matter is the fact that the artist's copy and signature are not covered, which is one of the approaches of postmodernism in owning and “appropriation” of a work. This study, by studying the copied works in the two periods of Persianization and then the period of Kamal-ol-Molk and the school of Kamal-ol-Molk, has examined the possible similarities with the “appropriation” approach in these works.In order to reach our goals of research, here, we have formulated two main questions: (1) why and how the painters from these periods have made copies of their predecessors’ works?  and (2) is it possible to have a new interpretation of their works as a way of modern concept of “appropriation”? What was lost was the presence of signs of the application of the goals and functions of the appropriation approach in these works. Therefore, according to the personal signatures of these artists on the copied works with similar methods of appropriation and keeping them in museums, it is possible to have a new approach to such works.This research has been formed by studying, reviewing and collecting the works of Westernization as well as the works of Kamal-ol-Molk and his students. The research method was descriptive-analytical and the method of collecting data and materials is that of desk study. In this research, the collected works have been analyzed with the approach of copying and matching with the original work of previous artists, and the presence of some functions of appropriation in these works has been investigated. For this purpose, a number of original works have been brought to better understand the audience. In this way, the methods and functions used by this generation of Iranian artists have been well visible and debatable and studied. It was not possible to present all the found and existing works in the history of Iranian art in this short article, therefore we have studied only a few that were in line with the objectives and division of the research and had the most similarity with the methods of appropriation.What can be seen today in contemporary art can be a follower of painting, Westernization, or the methods of Kamal-ol-Molk and his students. Therefore,  appropriation and the use of previous images have never been a new and fresh idea in Iran, and designing and making continuous copies from generation to generation from the work of prominent masters have been the method of work of all Iranian artists. Adapting and looking at pre-existing and popular images have always been commonplace, and as we have seen, repetitive forms and themes have been repeatedly represented and copied in Iranian art without detracting from the value of the old work or deeming the new work worthless. What is important is to keep all the copied works in museums and private collections of the world, although the idea and original design of none of these paintings, drawings and designs are from the artist himself, but like the original work, they have sought their luck and glory in the world. Iranian artists have unhesitatingly exploited and represented the works of former and Western artists to recreate them. What emerges from the study of the works in this study is the clear evidence that the methods of these artists are similar to the functions of the approach of appropriation in contemporary art. It seems that these artists had come to believe that in order for Iranian painting to continue, it is necessary to explore the world of European painting and to give it a chance to enter into dialogue and interaction with the world of Iranian painting and open a new path for Iranian painters. Perhaps it can be said that these artists understood the importance of appropriation for the continuation of painting in Iran.