Study of Structural Features of Manichaean Paintings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor ALZAHRA University,, Faculty of Art

2 M,A of Painting ,Al zahra University

Abstract

Manichaean paintings are the visual language of the Manichaean religion, every Manichaean painting has mystical themes depicted by human figures. Human roles that are classified by the Manichaeans with different titles and positions. The arrangement and placement of each human body on the drawing page is displayed based on their position and rank in different scales and modes. Examining and recognizing human figures in Manichaean paintings can help identify the structural features of this valuable art because composition, rhythm balance, movement and geometry, which are important elements of visual structures, are tied to human figures in Manichaean paintings. The aim of this study is to find out the structural features of Manichaean paintings. The questions of this research are as follows: 1. What elements owe the structure of Manichaean paintings? 2. What are the features of Manichaean paintings in structural and composition? Research method in this descriptive_ analytical study, library resources have been studied and samples of Manichaean paintings on paper have been reviewed. The method of analyzing the works is based on the study of the visual principles and rules used in the appearance features of Manichaean painting. The results of this study show that human elements play a major role in the structure of Manichaean paintings and usually change based on the position of the scale and the sitting position of the figures. The size and placement of each body in the sections of each page of the drawing is not based on the principles and rules of perspective and images do not have depth, but nevertheless the drawings have a special balance and coordination and have a desirable visual weight.

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🔓 © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Tissaphernes Archaeological Research Group, Tehran, Iran. Open Access. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way. The ethical policy of Ancient Iranian Studies is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and complies with International Committee of Ancient Iranian Studies Editorial Board codes of conduct. Readers, authors, reviewers and editors should follow these ethical policies once working with Ancient Iranian Studies. The ethical policy of Ancient Iranian Studies is liable to determine which of the typical research papers or articles submitted to the journal should be published in the concerned issue. For information on this matter in publishing and ethical guidelines please visit www.publicationethics.org.

References

Gulacsi, Z. (2001). Manichaean Art in Berlin Collections, Turnhout: Brepols. 
Gulacsi, Z. (2005). Mediaeval Manichaean Book Art, Leiden, Boston: Brill.
Gulacsi, Z. (2015). Mani’s Pictures, Leiden, Boston: Brill.
 
Ancient Iranian studies
Volume 1, Issue 3 - Serial Number 3
October 2022
Pages 45-67

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History

  • Receive Date: 11 May 2022
  • Revise Date: 23 June 2022
  • Accept Date: 06 July 2022

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