ABSTRACT
As opposed to Hindu India in which painters belong to a particular caste, the social or geographic origin of the artist does not follow any rule in the Iranian world, and in Islamic countries in general. Some artists are descendants of families of painters or of calligraphers and have, so to speak, been born in the workshop. In the case of artists born in the workshop, it can be imagined that their training was guaranteed. While in fact training does not seem to be an insuperable obstacle, a career, on the other hand, is secure only from the moment the artist is noticed by a patron. A painter or a calligrapher can become a general or a governor. His physical entity no longer belongs to him and his functions are attributed to him more often according to the needs of the court than in conformity with his artistic talents.
