Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Art studies, Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Tehran University of Tehran, Department of Philosophy of Art, Faculty of Theories and Art Studies, Tehran, Iran
3 Department of Art, Science and research, Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
Among the orientalists who researched Persian |Art in the Pahlavi period, Arthur Pope has a prominent position. In the first years of the 20th century, he organized several exhibitions and congresses in order to introduce Persian art and published numerous books, articles, exhibition catalogs and review texts. These activities of Pope were one of the most important factors that caused "Persian art" to be recognized as an independent branch of Islamic art. Although Pope's view of Persian art has been influenced by some previous approaches, including ethno-racial interpretations, it has completely distinct and unique characteristics that have not been accurately described and analyzed so far. In the shadow of a formalist approach that he adopted from the aesthetic theories of Roger Fry and Clive Bell, and by applying concepts such as pure form and the principle of loyalty to the purity of form, Pope achieved a novel perspective on Persian art. The special and remarkable features of Pope's point of view caused some of his most prominent contemporary art critics, including Meyer Schapiro and Ananda Coomaraswamy, to analyze and criticize it. The purpose of this research is to analyze and evaluate Pope's approach to the concept of "Persian art" by examining the criticisms raised on his theory of Persian art by Meyer Schapiro and Ananda Coomaraswamy. For this purpose, while introducing and analyzing Pope's view, Schapiro and Coomaraswamy's analysis and evaluation of it have also been analyzed. This research is a fundamental and theoretical research and the research method for this topic is descriptive-analytical. The method of collecting information in the present study was library research. The results obtained from this research indicate that the most important criticisms that Schapiro puts forward on Pope's point of view are the methodological problems in expressing the theory, considering this art to be superior without sufficient reasoning, the unjustified claim of clarity of Persian art, and the falsehood of the claim of the existence of decorative logic in this art. He also criticizes the formalistic view of the Pope and considers his racial tendencies to be incorrect. Coomaraswamy agrees with some of Schapiro's criticisms of Pope, including that Pope has tried to make Persian art appear beyond and more distinct from other arts without providing sufficient reasons. At the same time, he is completely against reducing the fundamental features of Persian art to the ancient style. On the other hand, Schapiro also believes that Pope replaced quality-based judgment with style-based interpretations and failed to connect art history with social history. Confirming Pope's view based on his own traditionalist approach, Coomaraswamy states that the "Persian spirit" has been the unifying factor of artistic approaches and aesthetic perception that has shaped the art of the people of this land beyond all historical periods; People who are natural decorators and artists, have achieved "pure form" in a non-historical way.
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