Discover 6 artists from Iran

"Once you have seen the colours of Persia, you will never forget them." So wrote the painter Kamal-ol-Molk when he made his sketches in the light of the desert. And indeed, Iran's art is like a kaleidoscope that reassembles itself with every movement - full of luminosity, full of stories, full of secrets. Anyone strolling through the streets of Isfahan or the bazaars of Tehran will sense how deeply art and everyday life are interwoven. Here, painting is not just decoration, but a mirror of the soul, an echo of history, a window into other worlds.



Imagine you are standing in front of a miniature from the Safavid era: tiny figures dancing in luminous pigments on wafer-thin paper, every movement frozen in a moment of poetry. Persian miniature painting is a universe in itself - rich in detail, narrative, often with a touch of melancholy. It was not created in a vacuum, but in dialogue with poets, musicians and philosophers. A manuscript such as the "Shahnameh" is not only a literary monument, but also a feast for the eyes: the illustrations by masters such as Sultan Muhammad or Behzad tell of heroes, lovers, demons and kings - and leave room for the unspoken, the mysterious. It is this combination of word and image, of poetry and painting, that makes Iranian art so unique.



But the story does not end in the golden glamour of the miniatures. In the 20th century, when the world was changing, Iranian artists ventured into the modern age - and created works that merged tradition and the avant-garde. The painter Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, for example, was inspired by the geometry of Islamic art and translated it into vibrant, abstract compositions. Photographers such as Shirin Neshat used their cameras to capture the tensions and longings of a society in upheaval. And even in the sketches and watercolours that seem so delicate at first glance, there is often a quiet power, a resistance to oblivion. Anyone looking at an art print from Iran today is not just holding a picture in their hands - but a piece of lived history, a fragment of a culture that is constantly finding new ways to express itself.



Iranian art is a stream that never runs dry: it flows through the centuries, takes on new colours, reflects light and shadow. It invites us to take a closer look - and perhaps take a little of its magic with us into our everyday lives.