Representation of Color of the Four Elements of the Tetra-Cephalous Angel Picture in Mir Heidar’s Me’raj-Nameh Based on Astronomy

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Islamic Art- Faculty of Religiouse and Civilization Art- art University of Isfahan-Iran

2 Department of Islamic Art, Faculty of Handicrafts, Art University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran.

Abstract

Statement of problem:Except for representing individuals, the icons carry very old phenomena, events, symbols, and analogies, and understanding their meaning requires the cultural history and culture. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, iconography (It is one of the most significant methods of art research, especially in the field of art history, used for studying pictures in the art history) has undertaken the scientific task in the field of art history, to identify and analyze the subject of representation in the artwork by referring to written sources. The present research analyzes the picture of Tetra-Cephalous Angel in Mir Heidar's Me'raj-Nameh, which is observed in Islamic and Jewish religions. According to the research conducted by researchers in this area, the picture of Tetra-Cephalous Angel (human head, lion, cow, and bird) is a representation of four main Zodiac Celestials in 4000 B.C. along with the representation of the four depending well known elements in ancient astronomy.
Purpose:The main question of the research is what the connection between the color of the Tetra-Cephalous Angel and the color of the four main Zodiac Celestials and the four dependent elements is.The present research seeks to investigate the effect of astronomical beliefs on the color of the four main Zodiac Celestials and its four depending elements as the macrocosm on the pictures of various religions as one of the areas where the people’ beliefs are manifested in different eras as the microcosm.
Methodology:This research presents an investigation with the historical-comparative method and an iconographic approach to analyze the picture of Tetra-Cephalous Angel in Mir Heidar's Me'raj-Nameh.
Conclusion:The results indicated that the colors of the Tetra-Cephalous Angel picture adapt to the colors of the main Zodiac Celestials and its depending four elements.

Keywords


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