Person

ʿAlī Riḍā ʿAbbāsī

1566–1640

Pers. Miniaturmaler und Zeichner ; Hofmaler ; Riza, son of 'Ali Asghar, was a leading artist under the Safavid shah Abbas I (reigned 1588-1629). He is noted primarily for having created portraits and genre scenes. The various names for this artist and the attributions of paintings in his oeuvre are somewhat uncertain, since his signatures and contemporary documentary references to him are ambiguous. Most scholars agree that the artist, Aqa Riza, who is named by Safavid chroniclers, is the same person as Riza in the court of Abbas (thus, "Abassi"), and that the artist's style changed significantly at mid-life. Others believe that two different artists with similar names are responsible for the oeuvre generally attributed to Riza. His early paintings display a fine, almost calligraphic linear style with mainly primary colors; the palette of his later works is darker and earthier, and the lines are coarser and heavier. He was probably born in Kāshān and he probably died in Es̩fahān.