Safavi Caricatures in Album Leaves

Abstract

The History of the art of caricature is one of the oldest genre in miniature painting. Humor, be-nevolent or malicious ridicule, and sometimes sarcastic ridicule are common to all cultures. But there are also very extremely specific, ethnical traits which allow differing one tradition from an-other. This ethnical specificity is especially visible in Turkic art. Already in the works of artists of the 7th-8th centuries, sharpness and satire attract attention as an inseparable whole. However, the true development of the caricature, already fully consistent with the thinking of our days, we find in miniatures on separate sheets. A whole gallery of images passes before us, reflecting all the levels and structures of that society. Their realism and sharpness of characterization refute the stiffness, conventionality and lack of individuality that remained in the distant past. Here we find all three main types of caricature: everyday, social and political in their rapid development. Thus, Azerbaija-ni caricature already in the 16th century acquires the full sound of a genre that is perfectly develop-ing in all three main directions indicated by us. Let us note in conclusion that the caricature genre is one of the main ones in the art of Azerbaijan, as well as in the art of other Turkish peoples.