Yaḥyā ibn Maḥmūd al-Wāsiṭī

▪ Iraqi painter

flourished 13th century, , Iraq

      Muslim painter and illustrator who produced work of originality and excellence. He was the outstanding painter of the Baghdad school of illustration, which blended Turkish art and native Christian (probably Jacobite or Syriac Monophysite) painting in a lively Islāmic syncretism.

      Yaḥyā was not the first to paint in this style, but he was the best artist whose work has survived. His work shows a synthesis of realism and stylization, and his composition is more elaborate than in earlier Islāmic painting.

      He was a native of the town of Wāsiṭ in what is now southern Iraq. Nothing is known of his life, and knowledge of him rests solely on his work.

      About 1237 he illustrated the Maqāmāt (“Assemblies”) of al-Ḥarīrī, a series of anecdotes concerning the picaresque adventures of an eloquent 12th-century Arab rogue, a work that was highly popular at this period. The 96 illustrations are of outstanding quality with fine composition, expressive figures, and vivid but controlled colours. They provide a fascinating series of glimpses into and commentaries on 13th-century Islāmic life and are remarkably satisfying as storybook illustrations.

* * *