Portrait of Seyyid Hasan Taqizadeh and Husayn Reza Khan, One of 274 Vintage Photographs

late 19th-early 20th century

Both of these photographs, depicting portraits of royal officers and officials, have been attributed to Antoin Sevruguin, who served as a court photographer to Nasir al-Din Shah. Sevruguin’s photographic portraits are often recognized by a skillful manipulation of light and a keen attention to capturing aspects of the sitter’s personality.

The portraits reveal some of the effects of Iran’s exposure to European culture in the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. The two soldiers’ uniforms suggest how Iranian costume gradually incorporated European modes of dress. At right, Mirza Husayn Khan and Mirza Taghi Khan Amir Kabir, the famed prime minister to Nasir al-Din Shah (later executed by the same ruler), are shown posing in elegant European suits. Their powerful political positions are countered by Sevruguin’s use of soft light.