Two Youths Embracing

Historical period(s)
Safavid period, 1630s
Medium
Drawing; ink, watercolor, and gold on paper
Dimensions
H x W (drawing): 22.9 × 14 cm (9 × 5 1/2 in)
Geography
Iran, Isfahan
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1954.28
On View Location
Freer Gallery 03: Engaging the Senses
Classification(s)
Drawing
Type

Album leaf with drawing

Keywords
Iran, nasta'liq script, Safavid period (1501 - 1722)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Label

The concept of love is the main focus of Two Youths Embracing. Conforming to the ideals of seventeenth-century painting, the artist of this finely tinted drawing has relied on gestures and poses to evoke the idea of love and intimacy between the two idealized youths. The entwined tree trunk, the swirling shawl, and the position of the bottles in the foreground further heighten the underlying meaning of the composition.

Published References
  • Joseph Allen Boone. The Homoerotics of Orientalism. New York. .
  • Dr. Esin Atil. The Brush of the Masters: Drawings from Iran and India. Exh. cat. Washington, 1978. cat. 22, p. 59.
  • Laurence Binyon, J.V.S. Wilkinson, Basil Gray. Persian Miniature Painting: A Descriptive Catalogue of the Miniatures Exhibited at Burlington House, January-March 1931. Exh. cat. Oxford, January - March 1931. cat. 309, p. 171.
  • A.M. Kevorkian. Les Jardins du Desir: Sept Siecles de Peinture Persane. Paris. pp. 254-255.
  • Catalogue of the International Exhibition of Persian Art. Exh. cat. London. cat. 693, p. 285.
Collection Area(s)
Arts of the Islamic World
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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