Zabihullah Mohammady

Born in Lorestan (south-eastern Iran) in 1941, Zabihullah Mohammady has always been a good “naqqâl”, a storyteller mastering the art of recounting Persian mythology and the poems his father had him memorize. But unfortunately, he was unable to continue on this path, having to interrupt his studies at the age of 8 to work.

It was not until his retirement, after having worked as a docker at the port of Mahshahr, that he began to draw them, inspired in particular by the murals of popular Iranian cafes representing the great martial, festive and religious frescoes that served as a backdrop for the stories of the naqqâl. He goes compulsively and fills more than one notebook a week with these tales and epics.

These miniatures, drawn with fine markers, depict scenes from Persian mythology, in particular episodes from Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), a long epic poem written around the year 1000 by Ferdowsi, but also from the Koran, the One Thousand and One Nights or Nizami’s poetry that he knows by heart.

Zabihullah Mohammady drew these stories as he told them, as he goes, by multiplying the layers of images and elements. He evokes all at the same time the many vicissitudes the protagonists of these adventures are facing. Some recognize the weaving techniques used by her mother – a Persian carpet weaver – in the knots and intertwining of her line, as well as in the repetition of patterns in the composition of his figures. Others find some similarities with Native American painting.

Zabihullah Mohammady died in 2021, he became one of the most emblematic representatives of Iranian art brut and sees his works presented in Iranian galleries and gradually also in Europe.