Islamic Art Studies

Islamic Art Studies

A Comparative Study of Contemporary Modernist Male and Female Painters in the Reinterpretation of Traditional and Islamic Elements Through a Formalist Approach

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Mona Alemi
MA in Painting, Shiraz Art Institute of Higher Education, Shiraz, Iran.
10.22034/ias.2025.513662.2416
Abstract
Formalist concepts were influential in the foundations of 20th-century modern painting, particularly in Iran’s modernist painting, which emerged in the 1940s (1320s SH). During this period, both female and male painters played significant roles in advancing modernism, each employing traditional and Islamic elements in distinct ways within their artistic creations. This study, utilizing Bloomsbury’s formalist theory and a descriptive-analytical method, conducts a comparative analysis of the use of traditional and Islamic elements in the works of three female painters—Behjat Sadr, Mansoureh Hosseini, and Iran Darroudi—and three male painters—Hossein Zenderoudi, Mohammad Ehsai, and Sadegh Tabrizi. The research data was gathered through library and archival studies.
The findings reveal that female painters predominantly used traditional and Islamic elements to express personal, abstract, and emotional experiences, whereas male painters focused more on reviving national and religious identity through calligraphic forms and Islamic motifs. Additionally, the influence of non-Western cultural and civilizational characteristics in shaping innovative forms was more pronounced in the works of female artists, particularly Mansoureh Hosseini and Iran Darroudi, compared to Behjat Sadr. On the other hand, the works of Zenderoudi, Ehsai, and Tabrizi demonstrate that the connection between calligraphy and modern painting in male artists was pursued in a more structured manner, influenced by identity-driven movements following the Islamic Revolution.
This study shows that male painters reconstructed a national-religious identity by relying on calligraphy and Islamic motifs, while female painters used light, abstract spaces, and mystical elements to offer personal reinterpretations of Islamic concepts.
Research Objectives:

Examining the formal, technical, and conceptual differences between the works of contemporary modernist male and female painters in their use of traditional and Islamic elements.
Investigating the social, cultural, and historical influences on how contemporary modernist male and female painters engage with tradition and Islam in their paintings.

Research Questions:

What are the formal, technical, and conceptual differences between the works of contemporary modernist male and female painters in their use of traditional and Islamic elements?
How do social, cultural, and historical influences shape the approaches of contemporary modernist male and female painters to tradition and Islam in their paintings?
Keywords
Modernism
Contemporary Painting
Formalism
Significant Form
Traditional and Islamic Elements

Subjects

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Islamic Art Studies
Volume 22, Issue 58
Spring 2025
Pages 75-100