“The Guarantor of the Gazelle” is an epithet of Imam Reza (AS), depicting a story in which the Shia’s leader acted as a mediator between a gazelle and a hunter.
Farshchian along with a number of Iranian artists and officials attended the unveiling ceremony which was held at the Farshchian Museum of the Sadabad Cultural Historical Complex.
“I painted the tableau for my own satisfaction in order to present it to the Astan-e Qods Razavi Museum,” Farshchian said during the ceremony.
He had previously donated “The Guarantor of the Gazelle 1” to the museum, at which nine other of Farshchian’s works are on display. The museum is adjacent to the Shrine of Imam Reza (AS) in Mashhad.
“In this new tableau, the hunter repents of his plan to kill the gazelle, disposing of all his hunting equipment,” Farshchian explained.
“Furthermore, the gazelle’s gesture of seeking asylum has been brilliantly depicted,” he added.
Farshchian spent over a year painting the work.
The Guarantor of the Gazelle refers to the story of a deer caught by a hunter in a forest. Passing by, Imam Reza (AS) asked the hunter to free the deer so she could raise her babies, but he promised the deer would come back afterward. The hunter accepted and freed the deer.
Months later, the deer returned to the hunter’s home. However, the hunter declined to kill her, as he saw the miracle in what had happened.
“These spiritual moments have brilliantly flashed into Farshchian’s mind,” Iranian Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Hamid Shahabadi said during the ceremony.
“He has beautifully illustrated all these wonderful moments on the tableau… we are so proud that a person like him is the standard bearer of our religious art,” he added.
“Worship of the Creator”, Farshchian’s other new work on Ferdowsi’s Shahnameh, was also unveiled during the ceremony.
Both of these works are currently on display at the Farshchian Museum. However, “The Guarantor of the Gazelle 2” will then be transferred into the Astan-e Qods Razavi Museum.
Photo: “The Guarantor of the Gazelle 1” is currently on display at the Astan-e Qods Razavi Museum in Mashhad.
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