Stanford University
Exhibition

Crossing the Caspian: Persia and Europe, 1500–1700

January 22–April 26, 2020

photo

Artist unknown (Persian, Iran), Scene from the Shahnameh: Rustam Battling with the White Demon, c. 1588. Gouache and gold leaf on paper. Committee for Art Acquisitions Fund, 1985.137

Lynn Krywick Gibbons Gallery (210)

Crossing the Caspian explores the golden age of artistic exchange between the Safavid Empire of Persia and Europe. Featuring prints, drawings, miniature paintings, rare books and maps, as well as objects of porcelain and silk, this exhibition examines the opening of new geographic, diplomatic, and mercantile routes between Persia and Europe in the seventeenth century. The pieces assembled here include works by artists from Antwerp, Amsterdam, Paris, Hollstein, Qazvin, Isfahan, and Shiraz. Together, the works represent the process of coming to know a foreign culture through the medium of visual art. 

We gratefully acknowledge support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Jacques Callot (France, 1592–1635), Two Turkish Headdresses of a Turban with an Aigrette (Les Deux Turcs Coiffés d’un Turban Avec un Aigrette), 1621–24. Etching. Gift of Andrea Rothe and Jeanne McKee Rothe, 2015.43.13

PhD candidate explores Persia’s Safavid Empire in her exhibition at the Cantor

Alexandria Hejazi Tsagaris, PhD candidate at Stanford University, studies early modern art and architecture, with a particular focus on Renaissance Italy and Safavid Iran.

Read more about how her educational experience influenced her decision to explore the cultural exchanges between the Safavid Empire in Persia and Europe in Crossing the Caspian.

Read Article

Crossing the Caspian Catalog

Crossing the Caspian catalog is available. Click below to view the exhibition works in more detail.

View Catalog