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Zarafshan F, Mohammadi M. (2026). The Influence of Iranian Textile Art of the Qajar Era on the Textiles of the Art Nouveau Movement: A Comparative Approach. , JIC. 10(1), 193-228. doi:10.66224/jic.10.1.412
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-412-en.html

In the turbulent atmosphere of the nineteenth century, when the world stood on the threshold of profound social and industrial transformations, a new movement emerged from the realm of art and craftsmanship: Art Nouveau. This movement arose as a reaction against the mass production and repetitive nature of industrial goods. First appearing in Europe in the late nineteenth century, Art Nouveau reflected a renewed inclination toward nature, authenticity, and aesthetic values increasingly threatened with oblivion in the modern world. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Qajar-era Iran—despite internal upheavals and the growing influence of foreign powers—remained one of the most significant cultural and artistic centers of the East. This period, marked by the intersection of tradition and modernity, witnessed efforts to revive indigenous arts and introduce them to the Western world. Iranian art, particularly in the form of exquisite carpets and luxurious textiles, attracted the attention of European artists and collectors and became an important source of inspiration for the Art Nouveau movement. The primary aim of this article is to elucidate the nature and extent of Art Nouveau designers’ engagement with the structures, motifs, and color schemes of Qajar textiles, and to clarify how this artistic interaction contributed to the rearticulation of Eastern aesthetic concepts within the framework of Western modernism. Methodologically, this research adopts a descriptive–analytical approach and employs qualitative methods for data analysis. The findings indicate that although commercial examples—such as Ziegler productions—exhibit alterations in motif structures to align with Western tastes, the works of pioneering artists demonstrate influence primarily in terms of color systems. This suggests an approach in which the chromatic richness and visual harmony of Iranian art served as a key source of inspiration, while the structural composition of designs and motifs was derived from diverse origins.