God's creation 1953

Hossein Behzad painted this miniature, titled ‘God’s Creation,’ sometime before he died in 1968. The colors are soft and warm, and the lines are delicate, as though traced with the finest brush. I imagine Behzad sitting cross-legged on the floor, his hand steady as he brings the scene into being. There are three figures in the foreground, sitting on the ground, perhaps discussing the wonders of creation? Above them stands a woman looking down upon them with a curious expression. What could they be thinking? The scene makes me think of Matisse with its decorative patterning. The colors flow into one another, and even though the rendering is flat, the artist has found a way to make the figures communicate with each other across space. Just like Matisse, Behzad is using a pictorial language of gesture and color. It feels like a conversation about looking and seeing that many painters have been having for years.