Parviz Kalantari, Painter, Writer

Parviz Kalantari, a painter, illustrator, animator, and writer, was born on March 21, 1931, in Zanjan. He is known for creating some of the most quintessentially Iranian paintings and illustrations in contemporary Iranian art.

Like other artists such as Farshid Mesghali, Ali-Akbar Sadeghi, and Ardeshir Mohassess, Kalantari gravitated towards creating works based on the visual elements of Iranian art. However, while others drew inspiration from Qajar motifs and lithographic images, Kalantari focused extensively on the lives of the Iranian people and architecture, portraying the simple life of urban and rural communities in his paintings and illustrations.

In 1951, he was accepted into the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran to study painting. During this time, he also worked at Mohammad Bahrami’s graphic studio and began his career in graphic design in 1952. Kalantari completed significant works in book cover design at this publishing institute.

Two years later, in 1954, he held his first exhibition at the Aesthetic Gallery. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran in 1959 and started teaching design there the following year. Over five years of teaching and during travels with students to various cities, including Kashan, he developed an interest in using desert soil and clay in his paintings, influenced by Marco Grigorian. He used soil to depict architectural spaces, desert landscapes, and mud-brick walls.

Starting in 1965, Kalantari illustrated elementary school textbooks at Franklin, creating memorable images for textbooks in 1976 that became iconic in Iranian illustration history. Some notable works include illustrations for “The Fox and the Crow,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” “Where is Hassan?” and “Build Your Homeland.”

At Franklin, he collaborated with artists like Zaman Zamani and Hormoz Vahidi, and later with others such as Gholamali Maktabi, Ahmad Sanati, Noureddin Zarrin-Kelk, Janet Mikhaeli, Fereydoun Jahanshahi, Leoni Tashjian, Arapik Baghdassarian, and Farshid Mesghali. Figures like Manouchehr Derakhshesh and Sadegh Sadeghi also played important roles in textbook illustration before and after the revolution.

In 1968, Kalantari illustrated “Gol Omad, Bahar Omad” (The Flower Came, Spring Came) for the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults and became the head of its art education department, discovering and nurturing artistic talents, including Mohammad Ali Baniasadi.

From 1955 to 1994, Kalantari illustrated 23 books and created an animation titled “American Freedom” (1980), which left a lasting impression on post-revolution generations. His illustrations and animations often incorporated storytelling elements, making him a prolific writer as well. Few visual artists in Iran, such as Bahman Mohassess, Mehdi Sahabi, and Farideh Lashai, have engaged in translating or writing books. Among those who have written memoirs or stories are Hannibal Alkhas, Iran Darroudi, Farideh Lashai, Ebrahim Haghighi, Mostafa Dashti, and Peyman Hooshmandzadeh.

Kalantari was more active in writing than most painter-writers. His writings initially appeared in the literary magazine Gardoon and later in other literary publications such as Donya-ye Sokhan. In some of his stories, he references his memories and real individuals, blending fiction and reality with a mix of humor and grotesque storytelling techniques to captivate readers. In 2004, he published 54 of his stories in three books with different publishers, followed by his fourth book, “Death is Not the End of the Pigeon,” in 2007.

In 2012, he published a collection of his articles and interviews titled “This Branch is Mine,” a task previously undertaken by Morteza Momayez, Aydin Aghdashloo, and Ebrahim Haghighi.

Kalantari’s paintings often depict the landscapes of Iran, its architecture, cultural practices, ancient myths, religious motifs, Quranic stories, Iranian celebrities, Persian script, tiles, Saqqakhaneh motifs, lithographic prints, folk tales, Persian poetry and literature, and the diverse Iranian ethnic groups such as nomads. His works sometimes venture into humor, satire, and social commentary. From his early work “Absence” at the Fourth Tehran Biennial (1964) to his “Mobile and Myths” series, this humor is evident.

Parviz Kalantari, one of Iran’s most prolific artists, known for his storytelling paintings and narrative-driven illustrations, passed away on May 20, 2016, in Tehran. He left behind a legacy of gentle and thoughtful works that continue to inspire Iranian art.