The following is a list of Iranian painters.

Classical era

Safavid era

  • Kamaleddin Behzad (1450–1535), head of the royal ateliers in Herat and Tabriz during the late Timurid and early Safavid eras
  • Heydar Ali (), painter at the court of Shah Tahmasp I
  • Sultan Mohammed (16th century), painter at the court of Shah Ismail I and Shah Tahmasp I
  • Abd al-Samad (16th century), painter at the Safavid and Mughal courts, a founder of the Mughal school of painting in India
  • Mirza Ali (c. 1509–1575), miniaturist at the Safavid and Mughal courts
  • Mir Musavvir (fl. 1510–48, died 1555), painter at the Safavid court in Tabriz and later the Mughal court in Kabul
  • Dust Muhammad (fl. 1510–1564), miniaturist painter, calligrapher, and art historian
  • Mir Sayyid Ali (1510–1572), miniaturist at the Safavid and Mughal courts
  • Aqa Mirak (1520–1576), Safavid court painter
  • Sadiqi Beg (c. 1533–1610), Safavid court painter
  • Farrukh Beg (ca. 1547–post 1615), Safavid and Mughal court painter
  • Reza Abbasi (1565–1635) miniaturist of the Isfahan School
  • Muhammad Qasim (c. 1575–1659), Safavid miniaturist
  • Mohammad Zaman (1650 – c. 1700), Safavid painter of the Farangi-Sazi style
  • Aliquli Jabbadar (fl. 1666–1694), Safavid painter of the Farangi-Sazi style

Afsharid, Zand, and Qajar eras

  • Mohammad Sadiq (18th century), Zand and Qajar court painter
  • 'Ali Ashraf (fl c. 1735–1780) lacquer painter and miniaturist
  • Abu'l-Hasan Mostawfi Ghaffari (died 1797/98), painter and historian
  • Abdallah Khan (c. 1770–1850), court painter, muralist and architect of the Qajar court
  • Mirza Baba (fl. 1785 – c. 1830), Qajar court painter
  • Mihr 'Ali (<abbr>fl.</abbr> 1795–post 1830), Qajar court painter
  • Heydar Ali (), lacquer painter
  • Abu'l-Hasan Sani al-Mulk (1814–1866), Chief court painter, miniaturist, lacquer painter, and book illustrator
  • Agha Najaf Ali (fl. 1815 – c. 1860), painter
  • Abu Torab Ghaffari (1863–1890), painter
  • Yahya Ghaffari (died 1894–1905), court artist of watercolour and oil paintings

Modern era

A

  • Iman Afsarian (born 1974), realist painter
  • Shahla Aghapour, Iranian-born German painter, author and gallery director
  • Aydin Aghdashloo (1940– ), painter, graphic artist, art curator, writer, and film critic
  • Mehdi Ahmadi (1966–2026), painter
  • Samira Alikhanzadeh (1967– ), painter, mixed media artist
  • Bahram Alivandi (1928–2012), Iranian-born Austrian modernist painter
  • Massoud Arabshahi (1935–2019), painter, leading member of the Saqqakhaneh movement
  • Kamrooz Aram (1978– ), contemporary painter, installation artist, collagist
  • Mir Hossein Arjangi (1881–1963), painter
  • Abbas Rassam Arjangi (1892–1975), painter
  • Siah Armajani (1939–2020), conceptual artist

B

  • Jamal Bakhshpour (1944–2015), contemporary painter
  • Mohammad Ali Baniasadi (1955– ), painter, illustrator, cartoonist and sculptor, known for illustrating children's books
  • Hossein Behzad (1894–1968), painter
  • Dariush Borbor (1934– ), Iranian-French architect, painter, urban planner, designer, sculptor, and writer

D

  • Delara Darabi (1986–2009), executed for suspected murder, painter and poet
  • Iran Darroudi (1936–2021), modernist painter
  • Mir Abdolrez Daryabeigi (1930–2012), painter, gallerist, and an innovator of Iranian modern art
  • Ali Divandari (1957– ), painter
  • Bijan Daneshmand (1958– ), Iranian-born English actor, painter

E

  • Ahmad Esfandiari (1922–2012), modernist painter
  • Abolhassan Etessami (1903–1978), architect, calligrapher, painter, and novelist
  • Zohreh Etezad Saltaneh (1962– ), artist, painter, carpet weaver

F

  • Amir H. Fallah (1979– ), Iranian-born American painter, based in Los Angeles
  • Roya Farassat (born 1964), painter, sculptor, based in New York City
  • Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922–2019), painter, sculptor; known for her cut mirror mosaic work (Ayeneh-kari)
  • Mahmoud Farshchian (1930–2025), master of Persian miniature painting, educator

G

  • Mokarrameh Ghanbari (1928–2005), self-taught folk painter from northern Mazandaran Province
  • Mansoor Ghandriz (1936–1966), modernist painter
  • Marcos Grigorian (1925–2007), Iranian-Armenian and American painter, gallerist, a pioneer of Iranian modern art

H

  • Raoof Haghighi (1976– ), Iranian-born British painter, known for portraiture and realism
  • Fariba Hajamadi (1957– ), Iranian-born American painter, photographer, installation artist
  • Khosrow Hassanzadeh (1963–2023), painter, printmaker and installation artist
  • Haydar Hatemi (1945– ), painter, sculptor
  • Mansooreh Hosseini (1926–2012), contemporary painter

J

  • Pouran Jinchi (1959– ), Iranian-born American painter, sculptor, calligrapher

K

  • Abbas Katouzian (1923–2008), painter
  • Kamal-ol-Molk (1848–1940), painter, and member of the Ghaffari family in Kashan
  • Keikhosro Khoroush (1941– ), painter and calligrapher
  • Zhaleh Kazemi (1944–2005), painter, news anchor, and producer
  • Shokufeh Kavani (1970– ), Iranian-born Australian contemporary painter, nurse
  • Reza Khodadadi (1961– ), contemporary artist, academic, painter, sculptor, and muralist

L

  • Farideh Lashai (1944– 2013), painter

M

  • Iman Maleki (1976– ), painter of realism
  • Leyly Matine-Daftary (1937–2007), modernist painter, educator
  • Sirak Melkonian (1930–2024), modernist painter
  • Farshid Mesghali (1943–), graphic designer, illustrator, and author
  • Mohammad Modabber (1890–1966), painter
  • Mohsen Vaziri-Moghaddam (1924–2018), painter and professor of art
  • Farhad Moshiri (1963–2024), pop art painter
  • Noreen Motamed (1967–), Iranian-born American painter
  • Mir-Hossein Mousavi (1941– ), painter, architect and politician

N

  • Naderi Yeganeh, Hamid (1990– ), Iranian mathematical artist
  • Afshin Naghouni (1969– ), Iranian-British visual artist
  • Shirin Neshat (1957– ), Iranian-American artist, photographer and filmmaker
  • Nodjoumi, Nicky (1942– ), Iranian-American painter
  • Nouri, Mina (1951– ), Iranian painter, and printmaker
  • Novin, Guity (1944– ), Iranian-Canadian figurative painter, and graphic designer
  • Nuri, Hossein (1954– ), Iranian painter, dramaturge, and filmmaker

O

  • Kazem Ordoobadi (1919–2002), painter
  • Nasser Ovissi (born 1934), Iranian-born American painter

P

  • Kour Pour (1987– ), Iranian-British painter, printmaker

R

  • Shokouh Riazi (1921–1965), modernist painter

S

  • Gholamhossein Saber (born 1941), painter and photographer
  • Ali Akbar Sadeghi (1937– ), painter
  • Farhad Sadeghi Amini (1963– ), painter
  • Behjat Sadr (1924–2009), modernist art painter
  • Salimi, Homayoun (1948– ), painter and academic
  • Sohrab Sepehri (1928–1980), poet and painter
  • Tony Shafrazi (1943–), Iranian-born American contemporary art dealer, gallerist, and artist
  • Naz Shahrokh (born 1969), conceptual artist
  • Keyvan Shovir (born 1985), Iranian-born American graffiti artist

T

  • Amir Shayesteh Tabar (1967– ), painter and poet
  • Towhidi Tabari (1964– ), painter and Persian style illuminator
  • Jazeh Tabatabai (1931–2008), avant-garde painter, poet, and sculptor
  • Sadegh Tabrizi (1938–2017), Iranian modern painter, calligrapher
  • Hossein Taherzadeh Behzad (1889–1962), miniaturist, calligrapher, and carpet designer
  • Taravat Talepasand (1979– ), American painter, sculptor of Iranian descent
  • Mohammad Ali Taraghijah (1943–2010), painter of rural landscapes
  • Parviz Tanavoli (1937–), sculptor, art historian, author

V

  • Mohsen Vaziri-Moghaddam (1924–2018), painter and professor

Z

  • Hossein Zenderoudi (1937– ), modernist painter and sculptor
  • Jalil Ziapour (1920–1999), painter, academician, researcher, and writer

See also

  • List of Iranian artists
  • List of Iranian women artists

Notes