Man in a Fur-Lined Coat

A rather small picture, this painting by Reza Abbasi, also referred to as Riza yi-Abbasi, depicts a young man lounging with fruits and a cushion. The man is surrounded by decorative plants and leaves in the empty space of the page, undetailed in comparison to the portrait but beautifully rendered through purposeful and weighted strokes. The young man wears an interesting wardrobe, not only with a furred cloak with immense detail to betray the softness upon which the man rests his face, but also a robe of what is considered, by Western standards, a royal purple. During the Safavid period, colours were often deliberately chosen to reflect the tastes of the commissioner, perhaps more so than the tastes of the artist or wider traditional expectations. This purple demonstrates a balance between its complementary green, of the cloak, and its almost analogous red, of the sash, which could suggest the colour choice was about harmony before religion or social standing. However, miniatures such as this, specifically portraits, were a method of establishing social standing where one used them to highlight their own political power, which is notable when considering this painting is from Abbasi's second time as part of the Safavid court. After his break from the court, Abbasi had spent time studying new things to paint, such as men from everyday life and his own surroundings, which had changed what was then recognised as his art style to what we see in this portrait, something that reflects many recognisable elements of the Safavid style. This includes the narrow eyes, rounded face and limber limbs, however the subject matter of a languishing man was something of a favoured one for Abbasi.