Mohamad Kamal Ol Molk Ghaffari was the most famous Iranian Painter of the last 500 years. By some accounts he was the Michelangelo of Iranian arts for having revived the Arts and sculpting in Iran. Among his pupils were The late Abol Hassan Khan Saddighi, by far the most respected sculptor of the 20th century (The creator of the Ferdowsi and Nadir Shah statues). Kamal Ol Molk was also a Freemason.
Mohammad Ghaffari, better known as Kamal-ol-Molk, born in Kashan in 1848, to a family with a strong artistic tradition, tracing their origins back to notable painters during the reign of Nader Shah. Kamal’s uncle, Mirza Abolhassan Khan Ghaffari, known as Sanee-ol-Molk, a celebrated 19th-century painter, was notable for his watercolor portraiture. His father, Mirza Bozorg Ghaffari Kashani, was the founder of Iran’s painting school and a famous artist as well. His brother, Abutorab Ghaffari, was also a distinguished painter of his time.[1] Mohammad developed an interest in calligraphy and painting at a young age. In his childhood eagerness, he drew charcoal sketches on the walls of his room.[2]
Upon completion of his primary education, Mohammad moved to Tehran. He may have studied painting for a time with Mirza Esma’il.[3] To further his studies, he registered in Dar-ul-Funun School, a modern institute of higher learning in Persia, where he studied painting with Mozayyen-od-Doleh, a well-known painter who had visited Europe and studied Western art. He studied there for a period of three years.[4] In his school days, the young Ghaffari was given the name Mirza Mohammad Kashi. During his education he began to attract public attention as a talented artist.
In his visits to Dar-ul-Funun, Naser al-Din Shah Qajar came to know Mohammad Ghaffari and invited him to the court. Mohammad further improved his technique, and Nasereddin Shah gave him the title “Kamal-ol-Molk” (Perfection on Land).
During the years he stayed at Nasereddin Shah Qajar’s court, Kamal-ol-Molk created some of his most significant works. The paintings he did in this period, which lasted up until the assassination of Nasereddin Shah, were portraits of important people, landscapes, paintings of royal camps and hunting grounds, and various parts of royal palaces.
In this busiest period of Kamal-ol-Molk’s artistic life, he created over 170 paintings. However, most of these paintings have either been destroyed or taken abroad. The works he created in this period indicate his desire to develop his oil painting technique. He advanced so much that he even acquired laws of perspective by himself and applied them to his works. His mastery in the delicate use of a brush was as well as bright and lively colors distinguished him from his contemporaries.
The Ghaffari Clan of Kashan 