Timeless Passions
Miniature painting from the romantic epics of the Persian poet Nizami (1141-1209)

02.08.2005 to 30.10.2005

Pergamonmuseum
Pergamonmuseum

This exhibition at the Museum for Islamic Art, at the Cabinet for Book Art, presents miniatures illustrating the work of the Persian poet Nizami (1141-1209). He worked in mediaeval Azerbaijan, and became known particularly for his romantic epics. His topics are psychologically sensitive romances and the hard lot of the poor.


Although he was never a poet at court, his epics have been imitated and illustrated since the 15th century. The illuminations in the exhibition are part of a volume from the court studio of the Persian town Schiraz and were completed in 1420. The miniatures are supplemented by calligraphy from the Staatsbibliothek Berlin (Berlin State Library).