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Youth Reading (Riza Abbasi, c. 1625–1626 CE)

Riza Abbasi (c.1565–1635), Youth Reading (A Young Man Reading), opaque watercolor and gold on paper, c. 1625–1626 CE. Harvard Art Museums (Arthur M. Sackler Museum). A paradigmatic Safavid single-figure album painting: a turbaned youth absorbed in a book, rendered in Riza Abbasi's characteristic sinuous line with soft, warm flesh tones and gold-decorated garments.

Scholarly Significance

Anchor Safavid Isfahan court painting with Riza Abbasi's Youth Reading — the paradigmatic single-figure Safavid album painting.

Notes

  • ·Album paintings by Riza Abbasi were collected in muraqqa' (albums) assembled by court patrons; this work was likely produced for such a context.
  • ·The youth's garment features a floral-patterned textile rendered in gold; his turban is white with gold trim. He holds a book open in his lap and is shown in three-quarter profile, absorbed in reading.
  • ·The composition type — a single elegant figure seated on a plain ground, often reading, playing music, or in romantic reverie — was invented or perfected by Riza Abbasi and became the canonical Safavid single-figure image.
  • ·Riza Abbasi signed many of his works; signed pieces command the highest prices in Islamic art auctions.
  • ·The Harvard copy is signed by the artist and dated by inscription to the year 1035 AH (= 1625–1626 CE).