Mihr 'Ali's chief skill was his ability to capture the portrait-sitter's grandeur and power, and as such he became a favourite painter of the Shah. It depicts a full-length portrait of the shah wearing a gold brocade robe and the
Kiani Crown, while holding a jewelled staff. attributed to Mihr 'Ali, 1800–1806,
Louvre,
Paris Fat'h-Ali Shah commissioned great numbers of lifesize portraits of himself and his sons, works which formed the backdrop to court ceremonies. The works, painted by Mihr 'Ali and his predecessor as court painter,
Mirza Baba, portrayed Fat'h-Ali Shah in his many stately roles, and were intended to show his power as a ruler rather than to be realistic portraits. As a result, the works are heavily stylised, are painted in rich, deep tones, and are filled with symbols of power. Other important works by Mehr 'Ali include a series of portraits of rulers and figures from the
Shahnameh, commissioned by Fat'h-Ali Shah as decoration for the 'Imarat-e Naw Palace in
Isfahan. This series of works was notable enough to be mentioned in the reports of many of the European travellers to Isfahan, such as
James Morier (in
A Journey through Persia in the years 1808 and 1809, published in 1812), Sir
William Ouseley in 1812 (in
Travels into various Countries of the East, published in 1823), and
Charles Texier (in ''Description de l'Arménie, la Perse et la Mesopotamie'', published in 1852). , by Mihr 'Ali, 1803/4 Until 1985, it was thought that all of the paintings in this series had been destroyed, but three have since been discovered and authenticated, those being portraits of
Afrasiyab,
Genghis Khan, and
Kay Khosrow, though the Kay Khosraw portrait does not exist in its full form but has been reduced to only some 80% of its original size. Despite this, it sold at auction at Christie's in London in 2007 for £54,000 ($US 107,500). The other two works are also in private hands, having been auctioned by the same company in 1987. ==Gallery==