Editing Reza Abbasi (section)

==Life and art==
Riza was possibly born in [[Kashan]], as Āqā Riżā Kāshānī is one of the versions of his name; it has also been suggested that he was born in [[Mashad]], where his father, the miniature artist [[Ali Asghar (painter)|Ali Asghar]], is recorded as having worked in the atelier of the governor, Prince [[Ibrahim Mirza]].<ref>Grove</ref> After Ibrahim's murder, Ali Asghar joined Shah [[Ismail II]]'s workshop in the capital [[Qazvin|Qasvin]].<ref>Titley, 108</ref> Riza probably received his training from his father and joined the workshop of Shah Abbas I at a young age. By this date, the number of royal commissions for illustrated books had diminished, and had been replaced by
album miniatures in terms of employment given to the artists of the royal workshop.<ref>Brend, 165-166: Grove</ref>

Unlike most earlier Persian artists, he typically signed his work, often giving dates and other details as well, though there are many pieces with signatures that scholars now reject.<ref>Canby (1996), Appendix III and passim</ref> He may have worked on the ambitious, but incomplete ''[[Shahnameh]]'', now in the [[Chester Beatty Library]] in [[Dublin]].<ref>Canby (1996), 181, allows him four of the miniatures</ref> A much later copy of the work, from 1628, at the end of Abbas' reign and rendered in a very different style, may also be his. It is now in the [[British Library]] (MS Additional 27258).<ref>Titley, 108-109, 114</ref> His first dated drawing is from 1601, in the [[Topkapi Palace]].<ref>Grove</ref>  A book miniature of 1601–2 in the [[National Library of Russia]] has been attributed to him; the only other miniature in the book is probably by his father.<ref>Canby (2009), 176</ref> He is generally attributed with the 19 miniatures in a ''[[Khusraw and Shirin]]'' of 1631–32, although their quality has been criticised.<ref>Canby (1996), 193, items 75-93</ref>

His speciality, however, was the single miniature for the albums or ''[[muraqqa]]s'' of private collectors, typically showing one or two figures with a lightly drawn garden background, sometimes in gold, in the style formerly used for border paintings, with individual plants dotted about on a plain background. These vary between pure pen drawings and fully painted subjects with colour throughout, with several intermediate varieties. The most typical have at least some colour in the figures, though not in the background; later works tend to have less colour. His, or his buyers', favourite subjects were idealized figures of stylishly dressed and beautiful young men. According to Barbara Brend:<blockquote>The line of Riza's ink drawings has an absolute mastery conveying texture, form, movement and even personality. His coloured figures, which must often be portraits, are more restrained and lay more emphasis on the fashions of the day, the rich textiles, the carelessly draped turban, the European hat.  Effete figures are often presented standing in a curved posture which accentuates their well-fed waists.<ref>Brend, 165-166</ref></blockquote>  The style he pioneered remained influential on subsequent generations of [[List of Iranian painters|Persian painters]]; several pupils were prominent artists, including [[Mo'en Mosavver]], who painted his portrait many decades later (illustrated at top) as well as Riza's son, Muhammed Shafi Abbasi.<ref>Grove</ref>

His earlier works were signed '''Aqa Risa''' (or Riza, Reza etc., depending on the [[transliteration]] used), which, confusingly, is also the name of a contemporary Persian artist who worked for the [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Jahangir]] in India.  In 1603, at the age of about 38, the artist in Persia received the honorific title of ''Abbasi'' from his patron, the shah, associating him with his name.  In the early 20th century, there was much scholarly debate, mostly in German, as to whether the later Aqa Risa and Riza Abbasi were the same figures. It is now accepted that they were, although his style shows a considerable shift in mid-career.<ref>Titley, 114; Grove; Gray, 80-81 represents an older view</ref> Riza Abbasi, the painter, is also not to be confused with his contemporary Ali Riza Abbasi, Shah Abbas' favourite calligrapher, who in 1598, was appointed to the important position of royal librarian, and therefore in charge of the royal atelier of painters and calligraphers. Both Rizas accompanied the shah on his campaign to [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]] in 1598 and followed him to the new capital he established in [[Isfahan]] from 1597 to 1598.<ref>Canby (2009), 36; see also the calligrapher's biography in [http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ali-reza-abbasi-tabrizi-10th-11th-16th-17th-century-calligrapher-born-and-trained-in-tabriz-but-active-principally-in- Encyclopedia Iranica]</ref> Soon after, Riza Abbasi left the Shah's employ in a "mid-life crisis",<ref>Grove</ref> apparently seeking greater independence and freedom to associate with Isfahan's "low-life" world, including athletes, wrestlers and other unrespectable types.<ref>Grove; Brend, 165; Titley, 114. Both contemporary sources and the female scholars who dominate the study of the Persian miniature show little patience with Riza's mid-life interlude.</ref> In 1610, he returned to the court, probably because he was short of money, and continued in the employ of the Shah until his death.<ref>Titley, 114; Brend 165; Canby (2009), 36, 50</ref> A series of drawings copying the miniatures attributed to the great 15th-century artist [[Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād|Behzad]], which were in the library of the shrine at [[Ardabil]], strongly suggest that Riza had visited the city, probably as part of the Shah's party and perhaps on his visits in 1618 or 1625.<ref>Canby (2009), 123, 179</ref>

About the time of his return to court service, there is a considerable change in his style. "The primary colours and virtuoso technique of his early portraits give way in the 1620s to darker, earthier colours and a coarser, heavier line. New subjects only partly compensate for this disappointing stylistic development".<ref>Grove</ref> He painted many older men, perhaps scholars, [[Sufi]] divines, or shepherds, as well as birds and Europeans, and in his last years sometimes satirized his subjects.<ref>Grove</ref>

Sheila Canby's 1996 [[monograph]] accepts 128 miniatures and drawings as by Riza, or probably so, and lists as "Rejected" or "Uncertain Attributions" a further 109 that have been ascribed to him at some point<ref>Canby (1996), Appendices I & III</ref> Today, his works can be found in [[Tehran]] in the [[Reza Abbasi Museum]] and in the library at the [[Topkapı Palace|Topkapi Palace]] in [[Istanbul]]. They can also be found in several western museums, such as the [[Smithsonian]], where the [[Freer Gallery of Art]] has an album of works by him and pupils,<ref>Titley, 114</ref> the [[British Museum]], [[Louvre]] and the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].