The landscape that Abolhassan Sedighi painted of Pont-Aven, France[1], is a remarkable example of attention to Modernism in Iranian painting. A follower of Kamal-ol-Molk School of Painting, Sedighi was soon fascinated by modern movements in painting and sculpture. Although he is well known for his famous sculptures of Ferdowsi, Khayyam, and Nadir Shah in major squares of Tehran, it is said that his modern achievements as a painter are overshadowed by these significant sculptures.[2]
The French town of Pont-Aven is associated with great names in art history. Artists such as Paul Gauguin, Émile Bernard, and Paul Sérusier, who lived and worked in this town, were the founding fathers of a movement by the name of “Pont-Aven School”. Pont-Aven has been a fascinating location for artists to reside and work since the 19th century. In search of modern art and inspired by the painters of this period, Abolhassan Sedighi was enthralled by the landscapes in Pont-Aven during the early years of the 20th century. As this work indicates, Sedighi dissociated himself from conventions of classic art and, for the first time, surpassed the realist representation of the Kamal-ol-Molk School. He was the first painter of the Kamal-ol-Molk School who experimented with Impressionist brushstrokes during a period in his career. Many of Kamal-ol-Molk students traveled to Europe in the early 20th century to witness the achievements of Modernism in western museums and academies. It seems, however, that Abolhassan Sedighi gained a more thorough understanding of modern art compared to others.
The present impressionist painting highlights a major period in Abolhassan Sedighi’s life when he traveled to Europe to complete his academic studies. In fact, he traveled to Europe on the recommendation of Kamal-ol-Molk once he finished his studies at the School of Fine Arts in 1928 – when the school was temporarily shut down and his mentor moved to Hossein Abad, Nishabur. Supervised by an artist by the name of Injalbert, Sedighi studied at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts for four years. He produced more than a hundred drawings as well as oil and watercolor paintings. Just as in this painting, Sedighi applied free yet accurate brushstrokes to create all these works, far from the elaborate designs of classic art. The numerous examples of landscapes that he painted of Paris, Marseille, Rome, Venice, and Florence are considered early Iranian modern works of drawing and painting.
[1] An image of the work was published in the book of Abolhassan Sedighi (P.99), thanks to efforts by Hadi Seyf, UNESCO Publishing, Iran, 1994.
[2] Mojabi, Javad, Pioneers of Modern Art, Beh Negar, 2014, P.145