Kamal-ol-molk

Kamal-ol-molk studied at Dar ul-Funun. Shaukat al-Muluk Khaja Nouri, Mahmood Olia and Hassan Ali Vaziri are recorded as having studied under Kamal-ol-molk. The field of work recorded is painting. Places of work recorded in the authority are Iran, Paris and Florence. Works named in the authority record are The Egyptian man. Work by Kamal-ol-molk is recorded in the collections of Library, Museum and Document Center of Iran Parliament, Islamic Consultative Assembly Museum of Iran, Niavaran Complex, Sa'dabad Palace and Malek National Library and Museum.

• Name — Kamal-ol-Molk • Birth Name — Mohammad Ghaffari • Born — 29 September 1848 • Birthplace — Kashan, Sublime State of Iran • Died — 18 August 1940 • Place of death — Nishapur, Imperial State of Iran • Resting Place — Mausoleum of Kamal-ol-Molk • Field — Painting • Children — 2 • Movement — Persian miniature • Works — Mirror Hall • Illustration — The Doshan Tappeh Street, 1899 • Illustration — Mirror Hall, which he believed to be his best work. He painted it over a five-year period.

Mohammad Ghaffari, better known as Kamal-ol-Molk, born in Kashan in 1848, to a family with a strong artistic tradition, tracing their origins back to notable painters during the reign of Nader Shah. Kamal's uncle, Abu'l-Hasan Sani al-Mulk, a celebrated 19th-century painter, was notable for his watercolor portraiture. His father, Mirza Bozorg Ghaffari Kashani, was the founder of Iran's painting school and a famous artist as well. His brother, Abu Torab Ghaffari, was also a distinguished painter of his time. Mohammad developed an interest in calligraphy and painting at a young age. In his childhood eagerness, he drew charcoal sketches on the walls of his room. Upon completion of his primary education, Mohammad moved to Tehran. He may have studied painting for a time with Mirza Esma'il. To further his studies, he registered at the Dar-ul-Funun, a modern institute of higher learning in Persia, where he studied painting with Mozayyen-od-Doleh, a well-known painter who had visited Europe and studied Western art. He studied there for a period of three years. In his school days, the young Ghaffari was given the name Mirza Mohammad Kashi. During his education he began to attract public attention as a talented artist. In his visits to Dar-ul-Funun, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar came to know Mohammad Ghaffari and invited him to the court. Mohammad further improved his technique, and Nasereddin Shah gave him the title "Kamal-ol-Molk" (Perfection on Land). During the years he stayed at Naser ed-Din Shah's court, Kamal-ol-Molk created some of his most significant works. The paintings he did in this period, which lasted up until the assassination of Nasereddin Shah, were portraits of important people, landscapes, paintings of royal camps and hunting grounds, and various parts of royal palaces. In this busiest period of Kamal-ol-Molk's artistic life, he created over 170 paintings. However, most of these paintings have either been destroyed or taken abroad. The works he created in this period indicate his desire to develop his oil painting technique. He advanced so much that he even acquired laws of perspective by himself and applied them to his works. His mastery in the delicate use of a brush was as well as bright and lively colors distinguished him from his contemporaries.

Following Naser al-Din Shah Qajar's death, Kamal-ol-Molk found it impossible to work under his son, Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar. Therefore, he set out for Europe in 1898, at the age of 47 to improve his art. Once there, he had discussions with distinguished European artists on style and technique, and copied some of Rembrandt's works, including "Self Portrait", "Jonah", and "Saint Matthew". Kamal-ol-Molk visited most of Europe's museums and closely studied the works of some well-known artists such as Raphael, Titian, and adapted and altered some of their works. He stayed in Europe for about four years. In 1902, he returned to Iran, after which he became court painter to five shahs.

The increasing pressure on Kamal-ol-Molk, originating in Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar's court, left him no option but to leave his country for Iraq, in spite of all the affection he felt for Iran. The visits he made to the holy cities in Iraq inspired his work at this time. "Karbala-ye-Moalla Square", and "Baghdad Jewish Fortune Tellers" are two of his most magnificent works of this period. With the advent of the Constitutional Movement, after a two-year stay in Iraq, Kamal-ol-Molk returned to Iran and joined the Constitutionalists because of the hatred he had developed towards Mazaffareddin Shah's government. Portraits like "Commander Asa'd Bakhtiari" and "Azad-ol-Molk" signify this period.

Mausoleum of Kamal-ol-Molk in Nishapur, Iran, in 1940. His mourners, especially family and closely related friends, marched his body next to the tomb of Sufi poet, Attar.

• Illustration — Shahrestanak Palace, 1887 • Illustration — A group of musicians, 1886 • Illustration — The spring hall of Golestan Palace, 1889 • Illustration — Beggar Girls, painting by Kamal-ol-molk in 1889 • Illustration — Portrait of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, 1889/90 • Illustration — Portrait of Vosugh od-Dowleh, 1900–17 • Illustration — The Baghdadi goldsmith, 1901 • Illustration — Portrait of Ali-Qoli Khan Bakhtiari, 1910 • Illustration — The Azod-ol-Molk, 1910 • Illustration — The Zoka-ol-Molk I, 1913 • Illustration — The Damavand Village, 1915 • Illustration — The Kamal-ol-molk profile portrait, 1925