Paul Mak, Miniature, Gouache On Paper, 20th Century

Miniature on paper in shimmering colors enhanced with gold, depicting seven mystical-looking female figures, adorned with rich jewelry and imposing headdresses, converging on flames. One of them, holding roses, sits on a Persian-inspired throne with lion heads. A frieze of Persian ornamental motifs adorns the bottom of the composition.

Signed in Persian script and dated 1953 in the lower right corner.

Paul Mak (1891-1967), whose real name was Pavel Petrovitch Ivanov, was a Russian-born painter, caricaturist and miniaturist. Trained in Moscow under Konstantin Youon, he started out as a caricaturist before the upheavals of the October Revolution, during which he was imprisoned, forced him into exile in 1921. He settled in Tehran, Persia, where he mastered Persian miniature painting with an old master, while continuing to excel in caricature and portraiture. As his reputation grew, he was recommended to the Shah, Reza Shah Pahlavi, and painted a monumental portrait of him, now lost, before becoming official court painter in 1927. During the 20s and 30s, he also exhibited internationally. From 1932 to 1938, he lived in Paris before settling in Belgium, where the horrors of the war considerably reduced his artistic activity at first. However, by 1945, he was exhibiting regularly in Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent, Antwerp, etc. In 1958, at the Brussels World Fair, the international jury awarded him a gold medal for his paintings for the Iranian pavilion. Until the end of his life, in his studio in Ixelles, he would continue to paint the miniatures that have become his trademark, skilfully blending Russian tradition, Eastern influences and European aesthetics.

Dimensions: 31 x 19.7 cm