Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Department of Philosophy of Art, Ha.C., Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran.
2
Department of Philosophy of Art, Ha.C., Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran
3
Department of Foreign Languages, Ha.C., Islamic Azad University, Hamedan, Iran
4
Department of Philosophy of Art, Ram.C., Islamic Azad University, Ramsar, Iran
10.22034/ias.2026.585528.2467
Abstract
Qajar narrative murals represent a compelling domain of interaction and intertwining between literature and the visual arts. Focusing on Jami’s poem Yusuf and Zulaikha, this study investigates the interpretive translation of text into image in these artworks based on Hans-Georg Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics. The primary concern of this research is to move beyond purely aesthetic readings and examine the nature of the “event of meaning” in the transition from word to mural. Accordingly, employing a qualitative-interpretive methodology grounded in fundamental concepts such as the “fusion of horizons” and the “dialectic of question and answer,” a total of 35 identified murals were reviewed, from which 8 prominent works were purposively sampled and analyzed. The findings indicate that the Qajar muralist was not a passive illustrator of literary narratives, but rather acted as an active interpreter. In this process, the artwork transcends linear representation and acquires an open character; by fusing the horizon of Jami’s text with the cognitive horizon of the artist and, ultimately, the horizon of the audience, a novel hermeneutic experience is forged, and the flow of understanding continues in a living, inextricable bond with the literary tradition.
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