Iran - Netherlands

About the project

In 1623 the Dutch East India Company was given permission by Shah Abbas the Great to trade with his country and open trading posts there. The relations were not solely economic, though. Various Dutch artists travelled to work in Iran in the seventeenth century, and several of them even rose to become court painters. In those days several Iranian artists were very receptive to the artistic innovations that Western artists brought with them. The medium of prints made them familiar with European and Dutch aesthetics, which they incorporated in their own art. The Dutch, however, were far less aware of Iranian art, and until recently there was no indication that Dutch patrons also had Iranian miniatures in their collections.

Aim of the project

This research will demonstrate that Iranian miniatures were collected in the Dutch Republic, albeit on a modest scale, certainly when compared the number of Indian miniatures in Dutch collections. The research includes prints in Dutch publications that may be based on original Iranian miniatures, an Iranian miniature in Gesina ter Borch’s sketchbook, and Iranian miniatures with early Netherlandish inscriptions.

Related Publications

• M. Gosselink, D. J. Tang (eds.), Iran and the Netherlands: Interwoven through the Ages, Gronsveld en Rotterdam 2009
• A. Langer (ed), The Fascination of Persia: The Persian-European Dialogue in Seventeenth-Century Art & Contemorary Art from Teheran, Zürich 2013
• J. de Hond, A. Couvrat-Desvergnes, L. Sauvage, F. Sajadi and P. D’Imporzano, “An Iranian Youth in an Album from Zwolle”, The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 68 (2020), no. 3, pp 205-231
• J. de Hond, '“Utterly Artless” or “Wondrously Noble”. Ottoman, Moghul and Safavid Art in the Netherlands in the 17th and 18th Centuries', in O. Westheider, J. Helfenstein, B. Brinkmann and M. Philipp (eds.), Rembrandt’s Orient: West Meets East in Dutch Art of the 17th Century, Munich 2020 (forthcoming)