Iranian Teahouse painting pioneer Mohammad Farahani dies at 76

TEHRAN,July 7(MNA) -- Mohammad Farahani, who was the sole survivor of the pioneers of teahouse painting in Iran, died at Tehran’s Baqiyatallah Hospital on Tuesday evening. Farahani was admitted to the hospital last week because of a stomach ache. He went into a coma after he underwent surgery and died soon afterwards, a number of Persian news outlets announced. He was student of Hossein Qollar-Aqasi (died in 1966), who was considered one of the founders of Iranian teahouse painting, which features religious stories and Iranian epic legends. Farahani learned this genre of painting along with his friends Hassan Esmaeilzadeh, Hossein Hamedani, Ahmad Khalili and several others who were regarded as the first generation of teahouse painters, almost all of whom lived in poverty. Unfortunately, Iranian artists and cultural officials have neglected Iranian teahouse painting over the few past decades and most of the masterpieces in this genre have not been properly cared for by their owners. Farahani and many other teahouse painters had repeatedly called on Iranian cultural officials to increase their efforts to revitalize this unique Iranian art form by holding workshops and courses, but their appeals fell on deaf ears. “The younger generation is interested in learning this genre of painting. I am ashamed that I do not have the facilities necessary for teaching them,” Farahani once said. “The government should take the first step to provide a center for teaching the generation,” he added. Funeral procession for Farahani is scheduled to begin at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall today and he will be buried in the Artists Section of Behesht Zahra Cemetery. Hassan Esmaeilzadeh, one of the few masters of Iranian teahouse painting who died in February 2007, once said satirically, “We thank God that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has provided a piece of land for artists in Behesht Zahra Cemetery so that they will not face any problems there!” The teahouse has had various functions in different eras during its 400-year history in Iran. Teahouses used to be places where people gathered to spend their leisure time listening to a naqqal (Iranian traditional storyteller) reciting Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh. People talked and exchanged views, and along with lutis (wise and generous people), helped poor people. Teahouse painters emerged in such an atmosphere. They listened to the discussions and tales, using them as subjects for the paintings they drew on the walls, tiles, stones and canvases. Sometimes, teahouse owners commissioned the painters to draw the stories. With their own unique perspective not used in other styles, teahouse painters drew motifs entirely based on their imagination. The themes of such paintings are epics, traditions, and religion. Even zurkhanehs (Iranian traditional sports clubs) used such masterpieces for decoration.