Artwork
Khusrau and Shirin
Khusrau and Shirin is a paint painting by the Romanticist artist Unknown. It dates from 1800 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Khusrau and Shirin is an opaque watercolor painting on paper, illustrating a scene from the Persian epic poem by Nizami. The artwork combines vibrant colors with a narrative moment from the legendary tale.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts Khusrau on horseback approaching a pavilion where Shirin watches Farhad, a sculptor, at work. This scene reflects the story of Farhad's devotion to Shirin, demonstrated by his laborious task of carving a mountain channel.
Technique & Style
The painting features bold, bright colors and soft, rounded hills in the background. The contrast between the dynamic horseman and the calm indoor scene adds to the composition's visual interest. The surrounding text is written in a flowing script, likely in Persian.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
Capture of King of Hamareram
King Enthroned Outside and Standing Retainers
The Brahman gambler sees the daughter of the king of the jinns in a pit together with an old man and a cauldron of boiling oil, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Seventh Night)
Page from Tales of a Parrot (Tuti-nama): text page
The mendicant’s wife deceives him with a soldier, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fourth Night
The Parrot Addresses Khujasta at the Beginning of the Twenty-third Night, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot)
Page of disasters, from the Tarikh-i Alfi (History of a Thousand Years)
The Brahman gambler sees the daughter of the king of the jinns in a pit together with an old man and a cauldron of boiling oil, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot: Seventh Night)
The third suitor strikes the devotee’s daughter and thus restores her to life, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Twentieth Night
Kaiwan sends a message of love to Khurshid, wife of his brother Utarid who is away on a journey, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Thirty-second Night
Rustam and the Simurgh
Khusrau, the King of Kings, pays homage to the pious daughter of Khassa, from a Tuti-nama (Tales of a Parrot): Fifty-first Night