Clara Abkar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clara Abkar
کلارا آبکار
Born1916
Tehran, Qajar Iran
DiedMarch 20, 1996
Iran
Resting placeNor Burastan Cemetery
Known forPaisley design
Notable work"Pirzan" and "Sultan Sanjar"

Clara Abkar (Persian: کلارا آبکار, Armenian: Կլարա Աբգար; 1916 – March 20, 1996) was an Iranian-born Armenian miniaturist painter and gilder.[1][2] Her name is sometimes written as Klara Abgar, Clara Abgaryan, and Clara Abkarian.

Early life and career[edit]

Abkar was the first female Iranian miniaturist who was born in an Armenian family from New Julfa the Armenian quarter of in Isfahan, Iran. She was born in 1916 in Tehran, Qajar Iran. She studied at the Armenian school Davotian (later called Koshesh). During her school days, she studied painting with Markar Qarabaghian and Hakup Vartanian. In Tehran, she studied Iranian painting and miniature under the supervision of the great designer of Iranian stamps, Mohammad Mehrovan.[3]

She studied at the High Academy of Fine Arts and in her miniature paintings horse riding scenes, still life, flowers, the Mausoleum of Omar Khayyám, Attar, Sheikh Ahmad and also the Firozabadi and Aliabad towers of Kashan had a special place. She never put her works on sale.[4][5]

Works[edit]

Horse riding scenes, still life paintings, flowers, the tomb of Khayyam and Attar were some of the artist's favorite subjects for drawing miniature paintings. Abkar also excelled in portraying bazam gatherings. Among her famous paintings are Anoushirvan and Bozorgmehr, Shekar Bahram, Youssef and Zulikha, The old woman and Ahmad Sanjar, Majlese Sheikh San'Aan, The Fearful Girl, Bazm and Bade Eshgh Abkar's most famous works are: Anoushirvan and Bozorgmehr, Shekar Bahram, Yusuf and Zulikha, Pirzan and Sultan Sanjar, and Taj Peyman (jewellery on silver). She also has many paintings in the field of gilding, and her octagonal gilding with paisley design is very famous.[6][7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "۱۰۰ زن نخست ایران در حوزه‌های مختلف" [Iran's first 100 women in different fields]. BBC News فارسی (in Persian). 2013-10-10. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  2. ^ "هنرمندی که آثارش را زنان تاثیرگذار ایران؛ کلارا آبکار،" [Influential women of Iran; Clara Abkar, an artist who did not sell her works]. Iran Wire.
  3. ^ "کلارا آبکار". rasekhoon.net. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  4. ^ "زندگینامه : کلارا آبکار (۱۲۹۴-۱۳۷۵)". www.hamshahrionline.ir (in Persian). 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  5. ^ "نخستين مينياتوريست زن – DW – ۱۳۹۹/۸/۱۳". dw.com (in Persian). Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  6. ^ Բախչինյան, Արծվի (2002). Հայազգի գործիչներ :հնագույն ժամանակներից մինչեւ մեր օրերը ; կենսագրական հանրագիտակ. Երևան: Տաթև գիտակրթական համալիր Զանգակ-97. p. 171-72. ISBN 99930-2-415-5.
  7. ^ Navasargian, Alice (1997). Iran - Armenia: Golden Bridges: 20th Century Iranian-Armenian Painters. Glendale: AAA Publishing House. p. 98-103. ISBN 978-0-9697620-0-3.