Kamalolmolk disciple Ali-Ashraf Vaali dies at 90
Veteran Iranian master of visual arts Ali-Ashraf Vaali, disciple of the Kamalolmolk School of art, died of natural causes Sunday. He was 90.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei sent a message of condolences on the sad demise of the artist upon hearing the news of his death, the Persian service of Fars reported on Monday.
A group of artists and cultural figures attended his funeral procession at the Iranian Artist Forum on Monday and his body was buried in the Artists Section of Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery.
Born in 1920 in Karaj, Vaali created masterpieces in miniature, calligraphy, illumination and bookbinding but his works were only displayed once in the year 1963.
An interpretation of Shams-i Tabrizi quotes is among his credits.
Vaali was one of the last students of Qajar-era painter Kamalolmolk, (1847- 1940). He studied in Tehran and was a graduate of art from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran.
He also took part in painting classes by masters Ali-Mohammad Heidarian and Rafi Halati.
His forty years of constant work in classic painting resulted in his reaching evolutionary heights in the use of color and in style.
He is also known as the bookbinder of the book “Tarjomat us-Salat” (Translation of Prayer) by Mohsen Fayz Kashani, Iranian Muslim philosopher (1598-1679).
His painting of a portrait of Imam Ali (AS) is preserved at the Astan-e Qods Razavi Library and Museum in Mashhad.
Photo: A woman holds a picture of Ali-Ashraf Vaali during his funeral procession began from the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on January 3, 2011. (ISNA/Alireza Sotakbar)
Source: tehrantimes.com
