Investigating the Grotesque Characteristics in Iran and Afghanistan (Case Study: Muhammad Siyāh Qalam and Khadim Ali)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 islamic art department, faculty of art and architect, tarbiat modares university

2 islamic art department, faculty of art and architect, tarbiat modares university, tehran

3 Department of Islamic Art, Faculty of Art and Architecture, University of Siena, Siena, Italy.

4 Department of Painting, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Shahid Bahonar University. Kerman. Iran.

10.22034/scart.2026.142388.1621

Abstract

Grotesques as one of the sources of knowing the culture and art of different societies and they are rooted in the archetypes of each land and they can represent the beliefs of the people of a society in the cultural structure. Throughout the history of Iran, many prominent painters such as Mohammad Siah-Qalam have caused transformation in the field of painting and it can be acknowledged that he is known as one of the pioneers and innovators and a source of inspiration in this field. Many artists have been influenced by him throughout the era. Khadim Ali is one of the contemporary painters of Afghanistan, one of the people whose works can be categorized as strange paintings, and by studying this, there are many commonalities between his paintings and the strange paintings of Mohammad Siah Qalam.. The topic raised in the current research is to what extent can the emergence of these strange paintings in the works of these two artists be considered the same? The research method in this study is comparative with the historical approach and the information is collected through library sources. The results of the research show that there are the same visual features such as the coloring of the images, the size and shape of the demons, and the body covering in the works of Mohammad Siah-Qalam and Khadim-Ali, but despite these similarities, there are also differences in the works. has Both artists can be seen.

Keywords

Sociology of Culture and Art

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 19 August 2026

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