The Persian word "Farangi" for Europeans is a corruption of the word "Frankish," because among the earliest European travelers to Iran were Frenchmen, and for Persians that word came to represent all Europeans, from whatever country. The decorative use of generic images of beautiful European women wearing their foreign fashions, or perhaps wearing very litde at all, has a longer history in Isfahan. In that sense, Isfahan is a unique city in the Islamic world for its extraordinary visual phenomena of scale and public accessibility, as shown by mural decoration at the entrance gate of the Qaysarieh bazaar of Isfahan,1 as well as by the frescoes in the royal palaces of the Safavid dynasty (1501—1736), and the paintings of artists such as Reza Abbasi (c. 1565-1635).
By the 19th century, such images had become available more cheaply as mass media, as imported prints or newspaper illustrations, and they were enthusiastically received. They were displayed in homes, fixed to the walls and the ceilings, for the entertainment of family and friends. This was a fashion trend that was apparently enjoyed throughout the country, and for the entire Qajar period.
The love of the Isfahanis for these images created an aura of excitement and brought new life to their homes. In those days, it was brave to keep images of partly naked women and expose them to family and guests. The risk of being condemned for breaking religious rules and for being blasphemous was high. Yet the Isfahanis managed to avoid trouble.
Another courageous action of the Isfahanis was their decision to mix a Western medium and subject with traditional Iranian art forms such as mirror works and floraldecorated stucco. As mentioned above, we know that for grand residential architecture Isfahan had a long history of cosmopolitan attitudes in matters of visual style. Still today, the palaces of Safavid Isfahan show how interior design thrived on a vibrant combination of techniques, palettes, and styles, which work in harmony together. Nonetheless, in the Qajar period it was a radical move to display foreign chromolithographs of such risky and exotic subjects.
As is recorded in many sources, 19th-century European travelers were surprised to see how well these popular artworks were incorporated into more traditional media and styles, such as carved stucco, mirrorwork, and fresco. Mass-media print images were also applied to interior decoration in Europe, in similarly creative and diverse contexts: in mid 19th-century "artistic houses" in Britain, print images were fixed to walls, screens, and scrapbooks, and were even imitated in tilework and murals. Being cheap and widely available, print images were perfectly transferable, with a cheerful novelty and a wide appeal. Certainly, the combination was a great success, in Iran as in Europe. Blending different materials of different natures not only did not disturb the eye, but was pleasing.2 Furthermore, it brought a happy atmosphere to the house and amused guests. The operation was simple, and was based on placing a ready-made object within a new environment, thereby giving it new life. Such an act was in principle not unlike the decision of the Pop Artists of the 1960s, a century later.
Constitutional Monarchy, Will of People and Diluted Theocracy in Early Modern Persia
