Haj Ali-Gholi

Description

Sardar Asad was the respectable leader of the Bakhtiary tribes at the time of the Constitutional-Revolution in Iran.
The Bakhtiary freedom-fighters, under the command of Sardar Asad, accompanied by other united forces from Tabriz and the north parts of Iran, attacked the capital Tehran and liberated it. By the time the liberator forces arrived in Tehran, the despot monarch, Mohammad Ali Shah was forced to escape.
The constitutional movement reached its victory and the parliament was reopened. Sardar Asad became the interior minister; the security of the capital and roads came under his control.
This painting was executed in the memory of Sardar Asad’s victory over the despotic forces and is popular under the name: “The conquest of Tehran.”
As shown in the painting, Sardar Asad, in a full official uniform, is mounted on a corpulent white horse. The horse looks somehow irrepressible but forced to proceed. On the contrary, Sardar Asad’s face looks calm and his gesture reveals his confidence and dignity.
All the elements of the painting such as the blue sky, the lake and the landscape, set on the background, beside the position of the equestrian, seem so calm and still except the expression of the horse, that gives the atmosphere a dynamic sense.
This painting is the work of Mohammad-Ali, the youngest son of Agha-Najaf, a well-known painter of the imperial court. The signature reads: “the work of Mohammad Ali, the son of Agha-Najaf.”