Sociological Analysis of Paintings of Royal Gatherings of Festivity in Tabriz II School according to Reflection Approach (Case Study: “Sadeh Festival” and “Feast of Breaking the Fast”)

Stage Historical and literary evidences and texts as well as works of art of the Safavid era point to the abundance of gatherings of festivity and joy in this era. These gatherings have been a part of programs of the Safavid kings and princes on various occasions. The painters of Tabriz II School have made significant efforts to demonstrate the magnificent manifestations of the kings and princes of the court. Moreover, travel logs of this historical period serve as a valid document with regard to the historical and sociological aspects of this period. This study seeks to identify the social conditions of the governing class and the court of Safavid era and analyze its impact on the art of painting based on the theory of reflection. Accordingly, with the purpose of content and sociological analysis of the paintings of royal gatherings of festivity, effort is made to answer this question “To what extent does the paintings of royal gatherings of festivity reflect the social relations of the governing class and the kings? “The target population in this basic research involves two paintings of “Sadeh Festival” and “Feast of Breaking the Fast”. The most outstanding results indicated that the three principles of Safavid Kings, including adherence to Twelvers Shiism, Sufism and culture of ancient Iran are reflected in the paintings clearly not only as ideology but also as the three main elements in the political governance of the Safavid ruling. However, according to this approach, we observe unnatural and unrealistic exaggerations about that era in most of the paintings of royal gatherings of festivity which might be an effort to establish a semantic association between the kings and the myths of Shahnameh and the Sasanian Kings and also validation of their power and magnificence.