Sepehri, Sohrab

A graduate of the School of Fine Arts at Tehran University, Sepehri was not only a painter but also a noted printmaker and poet. His love for his native Kashan, a small town situated on the edge of the desert, is reflected in his paintings’ buff, sandy tones. Succinct, direct, and assertive, his brushstrokes telegraphically convey trees in an arid landscape. In an apt description of Sepehri’s style, art historian Hamid Keshmirshekan writes, “As in his poetry, Sepehri introduced simple, remote and serene surroundings into his atmospheric compositions and directed the viewer’s mind to a world of lyricism and contemplation.”[1]

1. Hamid Keshmirshekan, “Modern and Contemporary Iranian Art: Developments and Challenges,” in Different Sames: New Perspectives in Contemporary Iranian Art, ed. Hossein Amirsadeghi (London: Thames and Hudson, 2009), 17.