Thematic Analysis and Visual Codes of “The Moan of the Son on the Father’s Death” Manteghoteir version of Timurid Herat School

The subject of the present study concerns the analysis of visual codes-- on one of the most important paintings that relates to the themes of mystical literature in the Timurid era. . This issue arises from the fact that from the middle of the ninth century AH, simultaneous with the growth and development of mysticism and Sufism, as well as the flourishing of Iranian book schools in the Timurid era, special attention was paid to the illustration of mystical texts. Among these works, Attar's Manteq al_tayr is available at the Metropolitan museum of art, which is one of the masterpieces of the Herat school paintings and also is an exquisite illustration with a mystical theme. A number if it's paintings including " the boy’ cry over his father's death" is attributed to master Kamaluddin Behzad and contains deep semantic layers . This study intends to identify and study thematic roots and pictorial codes of the mentioned painting as a selection of painting mystical themes in Herat Teymouri school..The question is: to what extent has been the artist's freedom of action in the content, application and visual codes, in the painting of" The boy’s cry over his father's desth "The result of the research demonstratd that the prevailing atmosphere and Sufi brliefs of the Timurid era have influenced to a large extent, the formation of image and the choice of symboles and rich visual codes such as color, motif, lack of cover, tomb, snake and birds sycamore tree and creek that are used in the painting. Sometimes they are rooted in religious beliefs and sometimes they're derived from culture .This research is done in an analytical historical way and the method of data collection is library information.