Nane Hassan

(Monavar Ramezani) : 75 year old Iranian Painter

Monavar Ramezani, well-known as Nane Hasan, born in 1937,in Sohravard، living in Khoda Bande town (Gheidar) in Zanjan Province, is an iranian self-taught painter who has been involved in the art of weaving rugs and drawing rug patterns from her childhood until the age of 70. Recently, for 4 years, she has started painting.

Her life is full of experiences and learning which she has in herited from her forefathers, including tales, myths, stories, poems, traditions, legends and ancient religions. These, shown through her paintings, bring us lots of untold matters which represent the identity of this country. By a glance at her works, one can realize the relation between their colors and combinations and those of the rugs, which are the most suitable beds …for keeping the ancient traditions. The most salient characteristics in her works are the existing of justifiability and mythical notions, great elegance in using colors and combinations, and rhythm and dynamism of the themes.

With no hesitation, the validity of her works has originated from luxuriance of experiences and honesty in expressing what is in her mind.

Life,nature and human are the important and shared indexes of the most of this artist’s works. The way of showing these images reminds ancient themes and old civilization works, as if she has learnt this way from her ancestors directly and is the heir of their knowledge.

Such these works are valuable treasures, and analyzing their aesthetic and justifiable aspects helps us to realize lots of relations and to reach a profound understanding of plenteous past of this art of the country.

Nane Hassan(Monavar Ramezani) by her words:

“I was born in Ghara Mohammad village 75 yers a go, Sohrevard town (hierarch Eshragh’s birthplace). I married when I was 9 and from then on I’ve lived in Khodabande town.

I learned poems, stories, proverbs and elegies from my mother, aunt and sister-in-law. My older aunt (Siminbar) and my aunt’s doughter-in-law (Goli Baji) taught me how to weave rugs. My youngest aunt (Emmi) was a potter and taught me many things about pottery and saddlebag weaving. My brothers were well-known weepres, invited from big cities like Tabriz, Tehran, etc. to sing and perform for them. I learned many poems and songs, and how to redact from them when they were singing. When weaving rugs or doing housekeeping, I crooned their songs and elegies. My brothers read the books Seraj-al- Gholoob, Golestan, Gomrie darbandi, Jowhari, Tanbih -al- Ghafelin, and Dakhil for me. Beside weaving rugs, I have been involved in tasks such as agriculture, Cattle raising, needling and other kinds of weaving needed for the family. I cannot be jobless in any moment, and must be doing something non-stop. Painting helps me relax my mind and not think of other things and get sad. Most of time, after settling in Khoda Bande town, I were busy with weaving rugs, and I have had some students to whom I taught this art.

I made the colors for … my rugs from plants like Aji plant (black color), Soot Dogan ( raw yellow), Pumpkin Flower (straw yellow) and walnut shells (black), and my painting colors are not unrelated to my rugs natural colors.

During my life, I’ve given birth to 15 children, 11 of them died, between 1 to 7 years old, because of illness and bad facilities of the time. I don’t know Farsi well and I speak Turkish. I studied 5 grades in Nehzat (a school for older students) when I was 60 years old, but I had learned Ame Chelke (the aboriginal alphabet) from Mola Hashem Sohrevardi. I knew many tales, but I’ve forgotten some of them because of getting old and of course due to an accident which I had, tales like Div Zad, Goozo Goo Kossa,Kor Oglu,(Aee Oglu Abbas,Segir Oglu sikhmaz,Gorud Oglu Gorkhmaz), Jerti o perti ,Sechan bechan kolbeya gachan, Heidar Shah, etc. which most of them I learned from my mother and my aunt Fateme.

I use whatever I remember from their stories in my paintings. Recently, I’ve been prohibited from weaving rugs, so I spend my leisure time on painting.”

I hope, in this century of perplexity and astonishment, we witness the outbreak, introducing and supporting these people who are the narrators of ancient themes and plays of this everlasting country.

Hasan Rajabi