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Youth Seated by a Willow; Single Page Illustration
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
A new aesthetic developed under the socially and economically conscious Shah ’Abbas I (reigned 1587–1629). Single polychrome paintings of elegantly clad youth were produced in considerable number during the 1600s, primarily for people with means who collected them and had them mounted in albums. Instead of functioning as portraits, the images of these courtly figures express ideals of youth and beauty. This young man’s lavish sash and turban enriched with costly gold thread proclaim his high status.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineYouth Seated by a Willow; Single Page Illustration, c. 1600–1650. Style of Muhammad Yusuf (Iranian). Ink, gold, and colors on paper; sheet: 33.5 x 21.9 cm (13 3/16 x 8 5/8 in.); image: 15 x 9.6 cm (5 7/8 x 3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1947.499
