Object Image

Sleeping Youth (verso), Illustration from a Single Page Manuscript

The Iranian painter Riza 'Abbasi spearheaded the new style with single figures, receding space, and partial modeling, influenced by European travelers to Iran and painters who accompanied foreign embassies, one being John the Dutchman who in 1626 painted narrative scenes on palace walls of Shah 'Abbas I. This sleeping youth displays a prestigious sash and has removed his equally opulent turban.

Credit: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

early 1600s
Opaque watercolor and gold on paper
21.0 x 12.4cm
1944.494.b
Image and text: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023

Where you'll find this

The Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Permanent collection