Comparison of Traditional & Modern Miniature in Iran
Shima Bahreini
Reprinted from: Honar Nameh, University of Art, Tehran, No. 8, 2000 (A brief of the article)


Three distinct approaches have existed in the history of painting: the imitative, the subjective and the divine.

The first two are frequently encountered in the history of painting in the West, but the third approach has its roots in the East, especially in traditional Iranian painting.

However, with shaping of contemporary culture in Iran, traditional painting has gradually lost its original characteristics. As a result of this act of unconscious modernizing, we are left with only a colorful name, without authenticity in traditional painting.