Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller

Paintings and Drawings by Mahmoud Farshchian. (Maḥmūd Farshchiyān : ā̲sār-i barguzīdah-i Yūniskū) 2 Vols. [SIGNED]

Farshchian, Mahmoud et al

Teheran, New York: Bongahe Tarjomeh Va Nashre Ketab; HOMAI, 1976, 1991. Hardcover. Signed Shahnaz Pahlavi (First child of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) three times, on English, French and Persian dedication pages in volume one. Elephant Folios. Volume one in Burnt Sienna buckram with white lettering on cover and spine, in original black dustjacket with white lettering. Volume two in burgundy silk moire with blind-stamped illustration and gilt lettering on cover and spine, in color-illustrated dustjacket with gilt lettering; housed in matching slipcase with debossed illustration and gilt lettering.

Volume 1: Elephant Folio (18 x 14"). 127, 17pp. Heavy brown endpapers with decorative gilt decor. Title pages in English and Persian with decorative ruling and publisher's device. Text pages in English, French and Persian. Elaborate decor on text pages and framing of tipped-in color plates. With a contribution on the artist by the publisher and Farshchian's short essay on Iranian painting. Illustrated throughout with fifty-two tipped in full page offset reproductions of Farshchian's work, mostly in color, as well as full page drawings, rendered lithographically on opposing pages.

Volume 2: Elephant Folio (20 x 14 1/4") 246, 18pp. Illustrated glossy endpapers. Text pages in English and Persian with elaborate decorative framing in color. Laid in one leaf of full size color reproduction of Farshchian's 1989 painting "The World Beyond." Page five, featuring a vignette with text "In the Name of God the Compassionate the Merciful" at top, and printed text in thirty-six languages of "To all people of goodwill in the world," with transparent vellum overlay designating the countries of the various languages. Introduction by Stuart Cary Welch. This volume contains some one hundred and twenty full page color reproductions of Farshchian's work, two of them double page.

"Mahmoud Farshchian and his paintings and drawings are of our time, albeit rooted in Persian tradition. He is a "scholar artist" well versed in the classical Persian repertoire. He has travelled, studied European and American art, and adjusted to our international age... To understand and enjoy his pictures one must be aware of the curiously veering path of Persian art from the later seventeenth century onwards, a long period of increasingly powerful European influences. These culminated during the Qajar period (1779–1925), when European–particularly French–increased greatly... Looking through the artist's work, it becomes apparent that his taste for Persian sources has evolved and changed over the years. If his earlier work was largely inspired by Reza 'Abbasi and his school, his more recent paintings celebrate the great Sultan-Muhammad." (Stuart Cary Welch). Most comprehensive color-illustrated monograph of the work of this Persian artist, often referred to as the "Master of Birds." Though rooted steadfast in Persian tradition one can't overlook the affinity to traditional Western fairytale illustrations and even modern day fantasy art.

Text in English, French and Persian. Dustjacket of volume one with wear along edges, small chips, closed tears and light creasing. Block slightly age-toned. Dustjacket in good-, binding and interior in very good condition. Volume two in fine condition. g- to fine. Item #48015

Price: $1,250.00