Mirza Mohammad Khan Ghaffari Kashani, or Kamalolmolk, remains one of the greatest and most highly revered artists in Iran's history. The representational and miniature art communities will forever remain indebted to the legacy of this man's genius, and its expression through a life of prolific, stunning artistic output.
Ostad Kamalolmolk's art reflects not only the cultural and political atmosphere of his time (a period of instability and ideological decline within Iranian society and government) but also a deep, personal desire to escape the constraints of that time. To the degree that any artist can subvert the repressive limitations of his era, community or tradition, Ostad Kamalolmolk's work has done so.
The Ostad's earliest connection with art was through his father, Agha Mirza Bozorge Ghaffari Kashani, an artist at the royal court of the Qajar. Some of Agha Mirza's own work was included in manuscripts of the historian Hakimolmolk's widely-read Safar Nameh, a chronicle of Nasreddin Shah's journey to Mashhad.
With his father's encouragement, Kamalolmolk entered the higher education institute of Darolfonoun in Teheran, the most prestigious of its time. Recognized as a prodigy from an early age, he undertook the simultaneous studies of art, French language, medicine and history. His teacher and lifelong mentor, Mozayanoddoleh Nazari, trained Kamalolmolk in the study of art history and technique, and it was at Darolfonoun that the young Ostad first honed his craft.
In the twilight of his accomplished life, Kamalolmolk, now a nationally-revered figure, became a recluse, passing his remaining years in the remote Hosseinabad region, in the tiny village of Naishabour. Having lived through the deaths of his children, colleagues and friends, the Ostad remained in hiding until his death, a staunchly independent, free artist to the end.
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Address: buried besides "Attar's Tomb"
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on Mar 28, 2008
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