Painting of a Young Beauty

Muhammad Sadiq|'Ali Akbar

1740s–50s · Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cloth · Islamic Art

This watercolor of a young beauty is signed by the eighteenth-century Iranian painter Muhammad Sadiq, who is primarily known for his oil paintings on canvas and his paintings on lacquer. This work, painted on cloth, is stylistically typical of the artist’s portraits of young women—as seen in the round face, doelike eyes, and centrally parted hair. The equally attractive borders are painted in a Perso-Indian style with sprays of blossoming flowers and signed by 'Ali Akbar, A.H. 1152/A.D. 1739, a pupil of 'Ali Ashraf, an early eighteenth-century master of flower painting.

Artist

Muhammad Sadiq|'Ali Akbar

Date

1740s–50s

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cloth

Department

Islamic Art

Credit line

Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2011