Mendeley  

Zotero  

Jahed S, Haseli P. (2026). The Relationship Between Text and Image in the Haft-Peykar Paintings: A Case Study of Manuscript No. 1029, Bibliothèque nationale de France. , JIC. 10(1), 53-76. doi:10.66224/jic.10.1.440
URL: http://jih-tabriziau.ir/article-1-440-en.html

The relationship between text and image in illustrated manuscripts of Persian literature is a significant subject in the study of Islamic art and Iranian painting. Despite previous research, the extent to which paintings adhere to poetic verses and the manner in which visual interpretations of the narrative are constructed in specific manuscripts of the Haft Peykar remains in need of detailed case-based analysis. This study aims to examine the relationship between text and image in the illustrations of Haft Peykar in Manuscript No. 1029 of the Bibliothèque nationale de France and to identify the methods of adherence, selection, and interpretation employed by the painter in representing the poem. The central research question addresses the ways in which the illustrations of this manuscript follow the verses of the poem. This research adopts a qualitative approach using a descriptive-analytical method. Data were collected through documentary research, direct visual examination of the paintings, and comparison of visual elements with the corresponding verses. The statistical population consists of seven illustrations related to Haft Peykar in the manuscript, all of which were examined in full. The findings indicate that the painter directly followed the text in the depiction of characters, the colors of the domes, and key narrative situations. However, by omitting certain poetic details and incorporating additional architectural, natural, and decorative elements, the artist presented an interpretive and complementary visual reading of the narrative. Therefore, the relationship between text and image in this manuscript can be characterized as selective, interpretive, and complementary.