- Title
- A Sufi in a Landscape
- Date Made
- circa 1650-1660
- Medium
- Ink and color washes on paper
- Dimensions
- 10 13/16 × 6 13/16 in. (27.46 × 17.3 cm)
Frame: 20 × 15 × 1 1/2 in. (50.8 × 38.1 × 3.81 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.73.5.582
- Collecting Area
- Art of the Middle East: Islamic
- Curatorial Notes
One of the most striking characteristics of seventeenth-century Persian painting is the frankness with which certain subjects are depicted, such as this bearded male in a landscape: emaciated, barely conscious, and slumped over, he appears severely intoxicated after drinking the contents of the large wine cup near his knee. Although it lacks text, this picture may represent an ironic visual riff on a theme prevalent in Persian poetry since at least the eleventh century: the metaphorical intoxication of mystical ecstasy.
