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9INTERACTION OF MINIATURE ART WITH THE COMBINATION OF THE LITERATURE AND IDEOLOGICAL, AESTHETIC, AND MORAL IMAGINATION OF THE
COMMUNITY
I.Yuldashev
Senior Lecturer of the Department of Fine Arts, FerSU https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8135100
Abstract. The article deals with the relationship of fiction with the art of miniature in Movarounnahr and Khorasan, as well as the ways of using various techniques to depict certain literary characters in the art of miniature. From the works of art that have come down to us, we can see that the pages of colorfully designed manuscripts were delicately miniaturized, decorated, and embroidered with patterns. The miniature was created as a means of interpreting the content of a literary text and was considered as a means of expressing the idea of a work in bright colors. At the same time, the miniature is expressed by pictorial means, lines and colors. The peculiarity of the connection with the roots of such ancient arts as wall painting, sculpture and applied art of the peoples of Iran and Central Asia up to the 7th-8th centuries is discussed.
Keywords: color, Zaraut, relief, archeology, Afrosyab, Moni, Muzahib, character, calligrapher, papermaking, decorative, Murakka, Muarrih, image of alkors, savr tree, Kushaniya, introduction, graceful.
Introduction
In art, the image of a person is connected to the historical conditions of social progress and is associated with ethical and aesthetic concepts that define the relationship to the individual of that era. In literature, the attitude towards depicting a person can be traced back to the works of Rudaki and his emphasis on bringing the real person closer in his creations. Although Rudaki (Abu Abdullo Ja'far bin Muhammad Rudaki 858-941) created images of ordinary people, similar to the court poets, his most important characteristic in his creations is his focus on expressing his daily joy and experiences. Firdausi, who created his epic work "Shahnameh" in the second half of the 11th century, incorporates various epic stories into his work. It is known that he aimed to maintain a sense of purpose and coherence, as well as a lack of randomness. As a result, Firdausi moves away from reality and creates an ideal protagonist with extraordinary power, detached from clear historical accuracy, for the benefit and happiness of all.
In literature, the image of a person is depicted through two creative approaches, emphasizing realism and idealism. The characteristics of each era are reflected in the portrayal of an ideal protagonist. The writers of the Middle Ages were inclined to express their own thoughts in relation to positive and negative characters. In their panegyric poems, court poets created complete images of their rulers and statesmen. There is a difference between the characters praised by court poets and those depicted in Firdausi's epic works. Firdausi created aesthetic and moral ideals. When the court poets praised their rulers, they did not necessarily adhere to the truth of events. In any case, they envisioned a clear distinction between the virtuous real person and the wicked tyrants who had covered their evil deeds with a cloak of righteousness. This way, various forms of relationships were created in literature. They deviated from reality and legal norms.
In various periods, the talented poets of the East utilized the conventional images of characters to describe aesthetic and moral ideals. Among the great poets of the East, Nizami Ganjavi portrayed the sufferings and punishments that humans endure based on conventional plots, reflecting his spiritual and intellectual aspirations.
In Nizami's poetry, the image of a person is a generalized image, and each period or characteristic is considered as an example of it. The characters of Layla and Majnun are the main focus, symbolizing their quest for divinity from within their hearts. [1]
LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY In modern times, the study of literary works, particularly based on contemporary scholarly literature, continues to be carried out. The poems of Rudaki and Khayyam, for example, have been studied less. Some historical treatises, such as Bayhaqi or Vosifi's works, have not been studied at all. However, the major works of classical literature have consistently received attention from scholars. Ferdowsi's "Shahnameh," Nizami's "Khamsa," Saadi's "Bustan" and "Gulistan," Dehlavi and Navoi's "Khamsa" written in response to Nizami's work are among them. Historical treatises such as Rashid al-Din's "Jami al-Tawarikh," Ali Yazdi's "Zafarnama," and Tabari's "History of the Prophets and Kings" have been extensively studied with illustrations. The evolution of the portrayal of humans in literature is closely related to the evolution of the theme of book illustration. Through the study of various periods of miniature schools, we can understand this connection. In the early 13th and 14th centuries, artist-poets depicted human faces according to beauty ideals and structured their compositions around a specific theme. In the 15th century, due to Behzad's mastery, human portraiture gained value and naturalness, different from distant and stylized depictions, appeared in composition. New and expressive characters emerged in his paintings, and their emotions were conveyed through landscape characteristics. In the 16th century, the portrayal became more distant from the text, and it became important to show their own ideas about the world. Therefore, authors introduced characters that were not anticipated by the composition, and they showed interest in their daily lives (Sultan Muhammad). In addition to the aforementioned literary works, contemporary scholarly literature is also being studied in the present day. [2]
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The faster material progress is made, the faster spiritual development is achieved. The motivation of Sufism has also greatly benefited from poetry, as it has used it extensively to promote its goals. Many poets in the world of Sufism have started creating their works with the aim of spreading their religious and philosophical ideas. Jalaluddin Rumi, the great poet of the East, was also one of these poets.
The most advanced poets of the East further developed the ideas expressed in their works, such as Nizami's epic poems, to create a noble and virtuous image of human character. The development of the image of the noble character in literature, as well as the general and mystical description of saints, is a distinctive feature of this genre. Therefore, we turn to the portrayal of humans in historical treatises, which is the most realistic field of literature. The realistic trend in portraying humans can be found in the "Tarixi Ma'sudiy" by Abu'l-Fazl Bayhaqi, written in the second half of the 11th century. Bayhaqi's first interest is in distinguishing individual facial features from one another. While Rudaki portrays each individual with a unique realistic appearance, emphasizing the characteristics of beauty and youthfulness, Bayhaqi separates himself from such individuals and presents them as representatives of a certain group. The important and remarkable aspect of Bayhaqi's work is his portrayal of the spiritual state of humans. For this
purpose, he narrates some events in the form of testimonies and includes internal monologues in his treatise. Bayhaqi's treatise has not been copied even once, and a large part of it has been lost. This fact can be seen as evidence that subsequent poets and artists were not interested in imitating his realistic portrayal. Some sources mention that during the same period as Bayhaqi, other people also created different treatises, but none of them provided a realistic portrayal of humans like Bayhaqi's "Tarixi Ma'sudiy."[3]
Even if the treatises mention real people, they still create a conditional image of humans and often provide common characteristics. Bayhaqi's experience in creating realistic characters was not utilized. For example, the image of a noble king in Odil Shah's treatise is usually depicted as a brave warrior who can defeat all enemies with his sword. In addition, he is seen as a wise ruler who believes in the mercy of God and does not neglect his daily prayers, even in the eyes of a faithful Muslim. This imitation of historical figures is depicted in two different forms; the hero and the pious person. Both the first and later images are used with certain conditions. This method of creation is also reflected in miniatures. The artist uses various visual techniques to portray a specific literary character indifferent ways. For example, in Nizami's "Iskandarnama," the main character is depicted in various ways. Because in some cases, his character symbolizes strength and power, while in others, he is often portrayed as compassionate and merciful. [4]
If we refer to the illustrations of the 13th century in the subsequent treatises, we can see two types of portrayal in the depiction of humans, similar to the symbolism and generalization in the poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi. The famous historian Rashiduddin describes the events that occurred during the Mongol invasion, creating a series of images and characters of Mongol rulers. However, the facts he presents sometimes contradict the usual characteristics of the created image.
In general, in the 13th-century treatises, the concept of fate is complex. This quality is attributed to the wrath and punishment of the creator sent upon sinful humans, and it is illustrated by depicting Genghis Khan as an embodiment of this wrath. The image of Sultan Jalaluddin Khwarazmshah is shown in opposition.
The illustrators of the treatises moved away from portraying real individuals with their unique characteristics and inner world and instead focused on representing historical figures as abstract representatives of certain groups.
In the 13th-14th century treatises, some characters are depicted with symbolic traits, while others are shown as rulers or warriors, and still others as punishers of the people. However, here we also see the same duality in the portrayal of humans as in poetry; the character's face is depicted with half of it covered by a veil.[5]
With the passage of time, all conflicts in the works lead to distinguishing humans as unique individuals. In the 15th century, the renowned historians completely abandoned realistic details and completely transformed them into fictional garments. However, sometimes a person's fate is depicted through a specific image. The "Zafarnama" by Ali Yazdi provides an example of this. In this treatise, Timur's image is portrayed as embodying all the necessary traits of an ideal ruler. He is depicted as a strong, fearless warrior with a majestic appearance. His intelligence and enthusiasm are depicted through his unique qualities as a ruler. In other lands, other religious representatives are shown as propagators of the Islamic faith. The composition of the treatise is centered around the central image of the ruler. However, through symbolic methods, the essence and other aspects of Ali Yazdi's portrayal of Timur's character are revealed. His true courage and leadership are highlighted in the treatise.
In the 13th century treatises, the illustrations are depicted with intricate designs and colorful patterns, often incorporating gold accents or delicate brushstrokes. At the beginning of the text, a decorative border is placed with calligraphy. The main text is divided into sections with headings. To prevent the text from being monotonous, it is adorned with illustrated or decorative borders. However, the main focus of the book is its illustrations, miniatures. [6]
First and foremost, each miniature artist must pay attention to the harmony of the illustrations with the content of the book. The miniature serves as a means of explaining the literary content and expressing the artistic vision of the work. Along with this, miniature images, lines, and colors also find their independent aesthetic value. The art of miniatures draws on the stars of ancient art, such as Eastern, Iranian, and Central Asian peoples' pre-Islamic era paintings, calligraphy, and applied arts. It has undergone significant development over time and reached its peak in the Middle Ages, during the period of established state systems.
The complex style and literary imagery found in poetic works made it difficult to depict them with illustrative means and artistic images in various weights and rhymes. However, through miniature illustrations, these works were able to find their unique collection of literary language and imagery.
The harmonization of literary and visual imagery is due to the shared aesthetic and moral concepts of state and society's most esteemed representatives, poets and artists. These types of concepts consist of various elements, including religious beliefs, subject matter, and ethical teachings. Aesthetic concepts were not separated from ethics in the East. Therefore, those who possessed complete virtues had spiritual beauty. Eastern thinkers considered the main beauty to be spiritual beauty, where the soul plays a central role, while the human body is merely a part of the material world that no one pays attention to. It is through these concepts that Eastern art developed a disinterest in realistic depictions of the human body, which in turn brought about its own conditions for depicting it.
Just as in literature, the art of miniatures was created through a synthesis of three elements mentioned above: conditionality, etiquette, and realistic details. The miniature artist depicts the world not as they see it with their own eyes, but as they should be according to the ideals of their time. Just as in literature, here too, eternal ideas must be the foundation, which is why the artist does not consider the material world when depicting it; they do not think about accurately depicting the proportions and perspective, the anatomy and proportionality of the human body, or conveying their emotions. The important thing is to indicate their movement or idea, and naturally, the artist focuses on capturing the reader's imaginative mind.[7]
The most important aspect of creating a miniature is the adherence to the conditions of the image. This is because the viewer understands the meaning of the artistic work through their emotions, not just through their senses. The depiction of the battle between two or three trees is appropriate for conveying the idea that a single soldier can win a battle. From top to bottom, the developing composition is conditional, and the middle-aged person's appearance is depicted as "from fish to moon", while the horses are depicted only in spring and autumn. The color scheme is also open to interpretation, with the sky being depicted in a golden hue and the sun in a bright red. Of course, it is executed in a conditional manner, not realistic, so the appearance of humans, landscapes, and objects is similar. This is because the artist does not rely on existing reality, but rather on eternal ideas, which is why they do not think about accurately depicting proportions and perspective, anatomy and proportionality of the human body, or conveying emotions. The
important thing is to convey their movement or idea, and naturally, the artist focuses on capturing the reader's imaginative mind.
The decoration of the book with miniatures serves as a means of conveying the emotional content of the literary work. The image of the main character in the book is depicted based on the description given in words, but it adheres to the general aesthetic rules for literature and miniatures. The artist creates images of ideal beautiful men and women. They depict important aspects of their appearance, such as the shape of their face and the expression in their eyes, as well as the characteristics of their youth. The facial expressions and movements are expressed in various ways, giving the image a "speaking tongue". In this process, the artist creates the conditional uniqueness of characters that can produce new images when altered.
The main task of the miniature artist is to create a visual image of Odil Shah, a heroic warrior, and beauties. This task is accomplished by utilizing all the elements present in the images; composition, color scheme, and attention to detail. For example, the image of a ruler is always positioned in the center. The emphasis on his appearance is important, but it does not dominate the entire composition. The sense of scale and appropriateness is always present in the artist's work. The ruler's clothing is elegant and brighter, and his crown and majestic turban are depicted separately. When depicting a ruler who possesses qualities such as nobility, bravery, decisiveness, ideal rulership, a courageous warrior, and a philosopher, they are portrayed in a court ceremony, on a throne, or in battle. The ideal warrior is always depicted with weapons of war.
During the depiction of battles, artists have depicted several distinctive characteristics of warriors in their compositional solutions with a high level of artistic skill. Their bravery and courage are always portrayed through constant movement; they are depicted as engaging in combat with several times larger enemies or dragons, or fighting against a large number of opponents in one-on-one combat.
The selection of specific motifs for depiction, copying them, studying them, and using special symbols for prominent characters is used in some compositional schemes. For example, it can be seen that the protagonist of Ferdowsi's epic is always depicted with a halo around his head, indicating his unmatched strength and power. We can clearly recognize and understand where and when he is depicted from all the other miniatures in the "Shahnameh" through these symbols. Another hero of Ferdowsi, Siavash, is always depicted in white clothing. In Jami's "Yusuf and Zulaikha," the main character Yusuf is depicted with a halo around his head and a flame on his shoulder, and through these symbols, the character of the work is recognized.
In the 17th century European figurative art, there was a tendency to give volume and perspective, to depict characters' emotions, to emphasize their ethical and ethnographic characteristics, and to deviate from classical symbols. For example, Rustam is not depicted with a halo around his head in the Central Asian miniature, while Siavash is given colorful clothing (in Ferdowsi's "Shahnameh").
In the 18th- 19th centuries, the portrayal of humans became more simplistic, the refinement of images gave way to exaggeration, compositional solutions were simplified, and color harmony was lost. Gradually, miniature art declined as new techniques such as lithography took its place.
The imaginary and conceptual closeness between the literary author and the miniature painter is evident in the "Varka and Gulshoh" miniatures or in the majestic portraits in Rashiduddin's "Jami'ut-Tawarikh." However, it is not possible to explain the unity of the characters solely through the artistic style and skill of the medieval artist.
Conclusion
It can be said that in today's world, there is a close relationship between literature and miniature art, which can be seen in various forms. The use of specific symbols and motifs in miniatures allows for the portrayal of complex concepts and ideas. For example, the depiction of a conversation taking place under a tree symbolizes a romantic theme, while the image of a flower and a nightingale represents love. These techniques are used to convey the artistic style and skill of medieval artists.
In some cases, miniature artists engage in discussions with the authors of literary works, as seen in the famous miniatures depicting the story of "Hayot va mamot ma'nosi" by Amir Khosrow Dehlavi. The artists fill their depictions with various everyday details, allowing for analytical interpretations of their works. The miniature 'Majnun Layli qarorgohida," preserved in the Metropolitan Museum, is an example of this. It was created by the artist Sultan Muhammad and showcases the traditional themes and compositions common to literature and visual art at that time. This undoubtedly contributes to the overall effectiveness of the depiction.[8]
In Rashiduddin's "Jome' ut-tavorix," for instance, the artist creates a tangible representation of the ruling figures, revealing factual details about their accomplishments and ultimately creating an idealized portrait of a ruler.
The use of realistic details in miniature art distinguishes it from the text it represents and brings it closer to the visual world. For example, in the miniatures of Behzod and Nizami's "Khamsa," the portrayal of certain literary characters gives them a recognizable appearance.
The influence of Sufi philosophy on Eastern culture can be seen in the way that artists and writers later sought to give their works a realistic depiction, with unique characteristics that set them apart. The use of conventionalities, symbolism, and motifs in the image is not exclusive to Sufism. It is a common feature of the literature and visual arts of all cultures during the Middle Ages. These symbols have survived and evolved over time.
In world civilization, figures such as Musa Khwarazmi, Ismail Bukhari, Abu Nasr Farabi, Abu Rayhan Biruni, Abu Ali ibn Sina, and Zamakhshari played a significant role during the cultural flourishing of Central Asia in the 9th-12th centuries.
The struggle of the common people against foreign invaders and local oppressors weakened the ruling elites in Central Asia and led to intense conflict against them, creating favorable conditions for resistance.
In such circumstances, Amir Timur (1336-1405) emerged and quickly gained prominence in society, playing a significant role in the life of his country.
Amir Timur emerged victorious from numerous and distant wars, bringing the territories of Transoxiana and Khurasan under his control and uniting them into a single, independent, and strong state. The city of Samarkand became the center of his empire.
Even after Timur's death, his descendants ruled the state until the early 17th century. In the Timurid state, the central government was divided into two administrative units: Transoxiana and Khurasan. Samarkand and Herat served as the centers of these two states. In particular, during the reigns of Timur's descendants, such as Shahrukh, Ulugh Beg, and Husayn Bayqara, culture, art, and popular craftsmanship flourished. [9]
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