Shireen, 1867, Watercolour and gouache on paper, 181/2 x 131/2 inches (47 x 34 cm). Private collection.
Shireen, a seventh-century Persian noblewoman, was the Christian wife of the Sasanian King of Kings Khosrow II. Following the death of Khosrow’s father Hormizd IV, General Bahram Chobin seized power over the Persian Empire and Shireen fled with Khosrow to Syria where they lived in exile under the protection of the Byzantine emperor. Khosrow returned to Persia in 591, regained control of the empire, and Shireen was made queen. She was then able to use her influence to support the Christian minority in Iran. Long after her death she became a heroine of Persian literature embodying enduring love and fidelity.
The most famous retelling of a fictionalised version of her story was in Khosrow and Shirin by the twelfth-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. This was one of several depictions of women from Persian literature that Burton painted, including The Wife of Hassan Aga and Zelitza, both of which were exhibited at the Old Watercolour Society in 1862. Interest in Persia, especially its antiquities, was high during Victorian times and there were many important collectors of Persian art in London including artists such as Frederic Leighton, Henry Wallis, and William Holman Hunt.
Left: Yelitza. Right: The Wife of Hassan Aga.
When this work was shown at the O.W.S. in 1867 it received favourable reviews. The critic for The Art Journal wrote: “There is a noble head, ‘Shireen’ (233), by the same artist, more than usually bold in the handling, which shows equal science and skill” (146-47). F. G. Stephens writing in The Athenaeum praised Burton’s “two contributions- Weary (139), an Italian girl sleeping on the steps of a porch, breathing painfully, and in the perfect repose of exhaustion, and the superbly executed and fancied half-length of a beautiful woman in Persian dress, called Shireen (223), - will more than sustain the reputation of this artist, high as that is” (595).
This work again reflects the influence of the Aesthetic Movement on Burton’s work at this time. A beautiful woman with wavy black hair, exotic jewellery, flowers in her hair, and a green floral wallpaper background are all hallmarks of similar works being produced by Rossetti and his circle at this time. The flowers in her hair appear to be anemones, which in the Victorian language of flowers could mean a number of things, including forsaken or forgotten love.
Bibliography
“Society of Painters in Water-Colours.” The Art Journal New Series 4 (1867): 146-47.
Stephens, Frederic George. “Society of Painters in Water Colours.” The Athenaeum No. 2062 (May 4, 1867): 595.
Last modified 13 April 2022