TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (Mehr News Agency) -- The Iranian Academy of Arts is to publish a
version of Rumi’s Divan of Shams illustrated by Iranian artists.
The book contains 50 illustrations by contemporary artists compiled by
Mehdi Hosseini and will be published to commemorate the 800th birth anniversary
of Rumi.
According to Hosseini, the project was initiated two years ago by the
secretary of the academy, Bahman Namvar-Motlaq, who invited artists to
participate in the task.
On the process of the work, he said, “We provided the artists a copy of
literature professor Mohammadreza Shafiei Kadkani’s version of the Divan of
Shams, and each artist began the illustration work based on personal
preference.”
Hosseini went on to say that the book will be a unique collection of its
kind, adding, “This is the first time that the Divan of Shams is being both
calligraphed and illustrated. This was only done for other great poets of the
past.
“The book contains a combination of modern painting with traditional
calligraphy. Illustration and calligraphy works in the past were only created
using traditional methods,” he explained.
Sedaqat Jabbari will do the calligraphy for the book, which will also
feature English and French translations.
