An Artist Who Immortalized Great Historical Figures

Abstract

The research analyzes the cultural value and historical meaning of Kamoliddin Behzad's miniature portrait of Sultan Husayn Bayqaro as a central Timurid art tradition piece. People do not recognize how important Behzad's artwork is to miniature painting because scholars have paid little attention to the political meanings in his artwork. The research takes an interpretive art history approach to explore Behzad's work by studying both image structure and court and cultural background. This painting reveals more than decoration to show Sultan Husayn's political power and intellectual knowledge in its precise design of geometric shapes, symbolic clothing choices and balanced layout. Behzad stands apart by combining artistic forms with cultural facts making his work an important cultural record of the Timurid period. Our research demonstrates the clear benefit of adding art to historical investigations when written information is limited or controlled by one side. Researchers should use technology and different fields of knowledge to compare Behzad's work with more studies to understand Central Asian art throughout history.