A Portuguese Scholar

Unknown artist

ca. 1630

opaque watercolour and gold on paper

Aga Khan Museum

A man with a grey beard and a hat sits in profile, holding a piece of paper. He is depicted within a decorative border featuring birds and floral motifs. A man with a grey beard and a hat sits in profile, holding a piece of paper. He is depicted within a decorative border featuring birds and floral motifs. Further Reading Iranian artists most commonly employed the topic of a scholar or doctor, as in a drawing in the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris by Reza-e ‘Abbasi.[2] Reza-e ‘Abbasi (ca. 1565–1635) joined the royal court workshop in Qazvin in 1587 from Isfahan, and he had an enormous impact on 17th-century artists. His innovative ideas opened new horizons in the creation of styles. A drawing inspired by ‘Abbasi’s work and presumably executed by his follo