Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies (statesmen) WWW.IICHS.ORG Kamal-ol-molk
Mozaffar Shahedi Mirza Mohammad Khan Qaffarri known as Kamalolmolk, one of the most famous painters of Following his primary education in Kashan, when he was only 13, Mohammad left for Darolfonun in Mohammad Qaffarri, Naqqashbashi of the court was entitled Kamalolmolk by Nasseraddin Shah in 1893. At this time he finished one of his masterpieces Talare Ayeneh (hall of mirrors). In 1897 one year after the death of Nasseraddin Shah, he went to Europe for three years to study the works of great European painters at the museums of Florence, Louvre and Versailles, and to restore some of them. During these years he had acquired great experiences; Mozaffaraddin Shah in his first visit to Europe in 1898 asked him to return to He started the work by Mozaffaraddin Shah's order but for the corrupt air of the court and troubles caused by courtiers, he did not remain there more than five years and in 1903 he left Tehran for the Holy Shrines of Iraq, the outcome of which was many works including "The Baghdadi Fortune teller", "The Baghdadi Goldsmith and His Apprentice", "The Supreme Karbala Field" and "The Sleeping Arab". In 1911, he retuned to Following the coup, Kamalomolk did not confine himself to collaborate with Reza Khan, and even rejected to paint a portrait of Mohammad Reza, the then crown prince. This attitude of him and the jealousies and apportunistic views of some statesmen led to Reza Khans severe contact with him. The budget of the school was blocked and the troubles ended in his leaving the school for a village in Neishabur district. In his letters to old friends, Kamal-ol-molk refers to the narrow-mindedness of courtiers and he prefers the lonely life in an arid desert to having relations with the dangerous men of the court. However, Kamal-ol-molk the skillful and exceptional painter of |