Isfahan School of Fine Arts Museum

Isfahan School of Fine Arts is home to one of the most beautiful and newest museums in Isfahan. The museum, which still bears the name of the school, was established with the aim of exhibiting a part of the artworks created by the school's teachers and students.

The school is a historic and eye-catching building located on the bank of the Zayandeh Rud river. Designed by the famous French architect, Andre Godard, in 1972, the school was built in a 25,000 square meter area and became the first art school in the historic city of Isfahan. Since Isfahan has always been a city of traditional arts and crafts, the school followed the same path. Fields such as carpet weaving, gold embroidery, wood carving and marquetry, Iranian painting, nature painting, pottery and ceramics, engraving, enamelwork, sculpture, and copper engraving were among the first classes taught at this school.

Interestingly, at the beginning, students in some technical fields were also accepted to study at the Isfahan School of Fine Arts. However, this section was soon separated from the arts section and given to another school. Many of today's handicrafts masters and famous artists in this region have studied at this school. Isfahan School of Fine Arts gained international fame when it was located near the Allahverdi Khan Bridge, to the point where officials from other countries planned to visit the location during their trips to Iran.

In 1972, Isaa Bahadori, who was the school's director for 30 years, decided to turn part of the school's administrative building on the second floor into an exhibition space to display the students' artworks to broader interested audiences. Based on this decision, the exhibition space opened called its special audiences from all over the world from the very beginning. 

Among the students of the Isfahan School of Fine Arts who are no longer alive or have become traditional artists, we can mention Master Pour Safa, Master Jazizadeh, Master Rostam Shirazi, Master Farshchian, and teachers such as the late Isaa Bahadori, the late Mosayyeb Tamaddon, the late Gholriz Khattam, and the late Master Hassan Shamsali.

For the past three decades, the exhibition section of the Isfahan School of Fine Arts has been closed until July 2009 when it was reopened, with the initiative of the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization of Isfahan province, as the Isfahan School of Fine Arts Museum with the presence of Isfahan artists. 

The difference between this museum and other museums in Isfahan is that it is dedicated to the artworks of the school's students. The works that are considered their graduation diploma certificates, such as miniatures, carpets, sculptures, gold embroidery, etc., which were kept in the school's storage for years, are now exhibited for the public. Currently, 400 works from the school's treasure are on display. The oldest painting on display dates back to 1939, a miniature painting titled "Majnoon" by Javad Eftekhari. Also, paintings by Houshang Jazizadeh titled "Leyli and Majnoon" from 1950 and a painting by Mahmoud Farshchian from 1948 are being kept at the museum. One of the most fascinating works in this museum is a carpet design by Isaa Bahadori named "Carpet of Humanity," the woven carpet of which has being displayed at the London Museum for years.