The role of fiction in the study of works of art based on Wuthnow’s sociology (Case study: Safavid miniature and the novel My Name is Red)

Safavid epoch, as one of the most brilliant eras in art periods in Iran, was along with the support of kings from artists. Meanwhile, the new political transfers and relations caused more acquaintance of Oriental artists with western art. The present research, while studying visual, ideological and sociological aspects of Safavid miniature from the viewpoint of the novel “My name: Red” based on Wuthnow theory, contrast the present differences between two miniatures schools of Herat and Tabriz II and the obtained results are matched with one of the miniatures without identification information left from this period. As per the novelist, he had been familiar with the philosophy governing Iranian miniature and its differences with western paintings and investigated the existing differences between traditional and modern views in the miniature workshop of the Ottoman Empire Palace. The points that how the said miniature was following one of the schools of Safavid miniature and how had been its relation with governing miniature school are discussed in this research. The findings of the present research indicate that from the composition viewpoint, this miniature belong to Tabriz II school and the artist, while being institutionalized with environmental conditions and principles, remains royal to the school in question and in some parts benefitted from his contemporaneous innovations. The findings of this article well indicate the importance of referring to fictions in artworks criticism.