Mihr 'Ali

Who is Mihr 'Ali?

Mihr 'Ali was one of the great royal painters of the Persian court during the reign of Fat'h Ali Shah Qajar, and is regarded as the most notable Persian portraitist of the early part of this reign. Mihr Ali was one of the foremost painters of the early period of Qajar art.

Mihr 'Ali's chief skill was his ability to capture the portrait-sitter's grandeur and power, and as such he became a favourite painter of the Shah. Mihr 'Ali produced at least ten full-size oil paintings of Fat'h Ali Shah, one of the earliest of which was probably sent as a present to the amirs of Sind in 1800. A further portrait, of the Shah enthroned, was sent to Napoleon. Mihr Ali's finest portrait is an 1813–4 work, regarded by some as the finest Persian oil painting in existence. It shows a full-length portrait of the King wearing a gold brocade robe and a royal crown, holding a jewelled staff.

Fat'h Ali Shah commissioned great numbers of lifesize portraits of himself and his sons, works which formed the backdrop to court ceremonies.