Sophia οf the Earth: Paintings of Shiraz-Behbahan School from Henry Corbin’s Phenomenological-Hermeneutical Point of View Referring to the Mazdeic Texts

Abstract

Focusing on five symbolic painting works from Golchin Asha’r of the Shiraz-Behbahan school dating back to 1398, the current study attempts to approach the world of meaning of these works in light of Henry Corbin’s Phenomenological-Hermeneutical thought. It will answer the following three questions: What is the relationship between geosophy (visionary topography) and these symbolic paintings? What are the advantages of Corbin’s philosophy to interpret traditional Iranian painting, particularly the Shiraz-Behbahan school? What meanings does the world of these works present? The findings show that it is possible to apply the symbolic painting’s method of representation instead of the familiar drawing methods to present geosophy / visionary topography (geography). The visionary history and geography do not occur on the natural earth but the celestial one through the faculty of imagination. If such a world, celestial earth, is supposed to be represented, the Iranian symbolic painting will be a perfect choice. Corbin’s ideas make the interpretation of such paintings possible by decoding their visual aspect and content. Accordingly, Golchin Ash’ar’s paintings can represent geosophy, in which the question of “what” the earth turns into the question of “who” as the visionary earth replaces images of the natural earth, through some references to the Mazdic texts.

Keywords

• phenomenology
• hermeneutics
• geosophy
• corbin
• iranian painting