A Portrait of an Amorous Couple, Signed by Muhammad Sadiq, Zand, Persia, Dated A.H. 1202/A.D. 1787

The present painting epitomises the intimate and highly decorative style of the Zand period.  The subject matter of paintings such as this evolved from the grand royal narratives of the Safavid school into the intimate and romanticised themes of paintings such as this. Paintings that provide a glimpse into the secret world of the harem and the illicit love affairs of the youth.

Stylistically however the Safavid and the Zand mode of painting remain closely interrelated, with the European influenced modelling of skin and flesh and a subdued and sombre colour scheme remaining apparent.  Yet despite this retention of European features the Persian love of patterning and decoration, so prevalent in the medieval period, returns to favour.  Densely ornamented fabrics begin to dominate, as seen here in the brocaded clothing, richly patterned bolster and the heavy, luxuriant carpet.

Muhammad Sadiq flourished from the 1740s to the 1790s, and his work was greatly influential on later monumental Qajar painting, from the arrangement of background detail, to the representation of idealised beauty.  The present painting shares a number of features that recur in his work, notably certain props as the floral bolster with tasellated gathering, and a crystal cup and decanter; these can be seen in a reproduction of an amorous couple in S.J.Falk's Qajar Paintings, cat.5; and in Diba and Ekhtiar's Royal Persian Paintings 1998, cat.27, p.157.

For further discussion of Muhammad Sadiq, his work and his school please refer to Diba and Ekhtiar 1998, p.147-157.