3 - “Saqqakhaneh Revisited”

Summary

Saqqakhaneh represents in Iranian art historiography the first successful translation of global modernism into the Iranian context. Saqqakhaneh is considered the first movement that moved beyond the belated imitation of Western artistic styles and established a local modernism rooted in Iranian visual traditions. Chapter 3 examines artworks and various written sources associated with Saqqakhaneh. Saqqakhaneh was not a self-styled art movement nor did the artists share a common aesthetic program. The various designations of Saqqakhaneh as a school of modernism, an artistic group, or even an independent art movement reveal no uniform definition of the term. This leads to the conclusion that art historiographical processes were more influential on the evolution of Saqqakhaneh as a category than the artists’ actual collaboration. Recognizing this distinction gives an important insight into the complex and shifting politics that prepared the ground for the reception of artworks connected to Saqqakhaneh. As a celebration of the Pahlavi monarchy’s liberal sponsorship of art and culture, these works play a key role in the memorialization of prerevolutionary Iran.