Bunyān-i hunar; justārhā-yi mūzah/dārī, marimmat, bāstānshināsī va tārīkh-i hunar (Foundation of Art; Studies of Museums, Conservation, Archeology and Art History)

A Comparative Study of the Ghadir Event in Safavid Painting; Coffeehouse Paintings and Murals

10.22034/ciom.2025.2029155.1017
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 8
Autumn 2025
Pages 25-42
Bunyān-i hunar; justārhā-yi mūzah/dārī, marimmat, bāstānshināsī va tārīkh-i hunar (Foundation of Art; Studies of Museums, Conservation, Archeology and Art History)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

azam سهیلی پور

بزرگراه ستاری. خ پیامبر مرکزی. خ هجرت. نبش کوچه اسدی پلاک ۳۲. واحد۱

Abstract
Abstract
Ghadir paintings are one of the most important subjects of religious-themed visual works in painting and coffeehouse paintings. The purpose of retelling this event is to honor and glorify the personality of the Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Ali (AS), as well as to emphasize the issue of Imamate and Guardianship. The most important issue of paintings with the theme of "Ghadir" is to present a sense of holiness and the artist's commitment to emphasizing the Imamate and guardianship of the Prophet and the absolution from enemies. This research, based on a descriptive-analytical method and with a comparative approach, using library studies and observation of works, examines coffeehouse paintings and murals in terms of visual and structural elements in order to identify similarities and differences between them and determine the possibility of their influence on each other. The main objectives of the research are to gain a deep understanding of the paintings and murals in the Ghadir coffeehouse. The results of the research show that the structural and visual similarities between the paintings and the Ghadir coffeehouse murals are not only due to the common theme, but also the possibility of the murals being influenced by the paintings, in such a way that the elements and arrangement of some of the murals indicate the antiquity of the paintings compared to the murals with the Ghadir theme.
 
 
Introduction
Rituals are important areas in expressing and preserving ethnic beliefs over time. Therefore, studying and scrutinizing rituals left over from the past is very important in understanding the cultural and religious roots of ethnic groups. Although studying the expressive frameworks, themes, or forms of rituals throughout history has provided researchers with valuable and diverse fields of study, understanding their common religious roots requires understanding the layers of meaning that have been condensed into the cultural characteristics of an ethnic group.
       One of the tasks of illustration is to understand various scientific and literary concepts with the help of images and more tangible feelings of historical events, and religious illustration can be considered the most expressive method for creating thinking in humans. Since religion has always had a special place in Iranian culture, the production of religious illustrated editions, along with other illustrated books, has attracted the attention of artistic patrons and illustrators. Religious themes, one of the influential factors in the type of religious tendencies prevailing in society and the vision of their patrons, have brought to the fore numerous manifestations of religious beliefs and teachings with different visual and symbolic qualities. Despite the Shiite tendencies in different historical periods of the Iranian people, themes and elements of Shiite beliefs have emerged and manifested in painting and have caused the presence of the faces of divine saints in paintings, but the reflection of Shiite themes, events, beliefs and personalities in different historical and intellectual periods has been created in numerous manuscripts and works from different aspects. The event of "Ghadir Khum" has been depicted in religious and historical dimensions in different periods. Of course, the existing works do not have the same trend in terms of the emergence of visual and pictorial elements, and the painters who have depicted these subjects have had different goals. For this purpose, their visual language is not only a continuation of the visual heritage, but more than anything, it confirms the influence of the intellectual and cultural of each period and its dominant style. The main questions of this research include; 1. What are the similarities and differences between the Ghadir paintings and coffeehouse murals in terms of visual and structural elements? 2. Did the paintings influence the coffeehouse murals? The main objectives of the research are to gain a deep understanding of the visual arts with the theme of Ghadir and to discover the relationships and scope of the influence of the paintings on the coffeehouse murals. To achieve these objectives, it is necessary to become familiar with the visual and structural elements present in the two styles of painting, pictorial painting and coffeehouse murals, and to study the works of their artists.
 
Research Method
This research was based on a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach and using library studies and observation of works. Initially, the Ghadir event was examined by referring to the texts, then, based on the research objectives, selected images from coffeehouse paintings and murals on the subject of the Ghadir event were studied in terms of visual elements (the type of faces of the Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Ali (AS), the veil, the holy, the sky and angels) and structural elements (the environmental and spatial characteristics of the event, the presence of people, the conditions of the two characters of the Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Ali (AS) in the image and their distinction from others) in order to identify the similarities and differences between the paintings and murals and the possibility of their influence and impact on each other. The method of analyzing information is qualitative and is in accordance with the principles of the qualitative method from selected theoretical samples.
 
Conclusion:
The study of paintings and coffeehouse murals with the theme of Ghadir shows the commonalities in the visual expression methods and concepts that were the subject of the creation of these works, and on the other hand, the differences in them explain the type of painting style, the necessity of using and in fact the application of the desired painting, as well as the period in which the painting was depicted in terms of the political and social conditions of the time, which itself determines the type of items used in the painting. The adaptation of structural elements in the composition of the paintings and murals in the coffeehouses shows that in most paintings with the theme of Ghadir, in addition to the continuation of the common pictorial styles in Iranian painting, the reflection of Ghadir is clearly visible in them. Considering the antiquity of painting and also the longer history of depicting the event of Ghadir compared to the paintings or murals in the coffeehouses, it must be acknowledged that the paintings or murals in the coffeehouses with the theme of Ghadir have been influenced by painting both in terms of structure and in terms of visual elements. The distinguishing parts of the images in both types of paintings, the identification of saints and commoners, the type of environment and climate of the Ghadir region, etc., are completely similar, and repetitive elements have been used to illustrate this single theme. For example, the presence of the Prophet (PBUH) and Imam Ali (AS), pilgrims, and other elements are present, but the structure and main visual elements may change, or in the background, there may be changes in the secondary elements according to the type of narrative. The only difference between these two types of paintings is that the coffeehouse murals are abstracted by contemporary masters for greater simplicity in line with the type of application of painting in the coffeehouse space, to explain the event of Ghadir to a general audience.

Keywords

Ghadir Khum Event
Persian Painting and Safavid
Subjects
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