ALI AKBAR SADEGHI

Ali Akbar Sadeghi (born 1937) a graduate of the College of Art, University of Tehran, is one of the most prolific and successful Iranian painters and artists.
As a child, Ali Akbar Sadeghi reminisces that he would be lost in the chants of narrators that gave account of Shahnameh stories; accounts of Siavash riding on horseback, still-armored Bijan, Rostam’s arrow hitting Ashkboos in the heart, Faramarz, elephant rider, and bravery of other heroes whose names remain in Persian literature and folklore forever. In general, the lyrical, heroic world of legends is an indispensable part of Ali Akbar Sadeghi’s worldview, a world whose figurative representations sometimes appear in old miniature paintings or more popular forms of art, including coffeehouse painting, reverse painting on glass, imprints on wood and paper, and stunning images in lithographed books.
He began to teach painting in high school in the 1950s, before entering the university in 1958. His early works were with watercolor, but as of 1959, soon after entering college, he began oil painting and drawing. He initiated a particular style in Persian painting, influenced by Coffee House painting, iconography, and traditional Iranian portrait painting, following the Qajar tradition – a mixture of a kind of surrealism, influenced by the art of stained glass. He did his early works in graphics and illustration. He is among the first individuals involved in the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and the Youth, and was among the founders of the Film Animation department of this institute.
Aside from illustration, he has published number of books for the Center for the Development of Children and the Youth, and has made seven films by using his style in painting.
Films produced by Sadeghi have won more than 15 awards at International Film Festivals. Also, for his book illustrations he has won four international awards.