Miniature Painting
Miniature painting which was very common in the Far East, usually refers to a small illustration used to decorate an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript. Persian miniature painting was fundamentally very different than the naturalistic European paintings, and based on its philosophical and aesthetic principles, also quite distinct from the illustrative arts of the Far East and India. Persian miniature painting has never been about the portrayal of nature; but was persistent on illustrating the essence of natural aspects, therefore, elements such as time, place, the laws of the universe and physics had no meaning within it. Forms and shapes of humans, trees, birds and mountains seen in this style of painting were archetype rather than realistic imitations of nature. Persian miniature painting was closely related with Persian literature. The concept was usually of mythical worlds, epic novels and ancient legendary heroes who's stories were told in the epic poems of great Persian poets such as Ferdowsi, Nezami, Saadi, Hafiz and Jaami and were translated into the artistic language of color and design. Many metaphors were used in Persian poetry, for instance night as Azure, sun as a golden shield, day as topaz, the face
