Spring breeze 1962

Hossein Behzad made this miniature, called Spring Breeze, sometime before he died in 1968. Looking at it, I imagine the artist hunched over this small surface, painstakingly applying these detailed figures. I wonder about Behzad’s process. Did he begin with the overall composition, placing the figures in a landscape, and only later add the intricacies of the birds and the flowers? Or was it a process of patient, meditative accretion? There’s a real sense of care and attention to the way the image has been built up. It makes me think about other paintings that combine the human figure with natural motifs – details that you find in Persian rugs and textiles too. It's this combination of skill, and craft, and careful observation of the world. All painters are looking at the work of others; they inspire us, challenge us, and invite us into an ongoing conversation. The creation of a painting is not about answers. Rather, it's a space in which to pose questions and to wonder.