Jamshid Mashayekhi’s artwork presented to family

A number of Iranian artists have presented a drawing by Jamshid Mashayekhi to the actor’s family.

The artwork was presented to the late actor’s family during an opening ceremony of a painting exhibition at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center on Friday.

The artwork shows a portrait of Mashayekhi’s wife that he drew while he was taking art lessons from master Hojjat Shakiba.

A number of artists and cultural figures, including art critic Javad Mojabi and calligrapher Javad Bakhtiari, attended the opening ceremony.

Shakiba said that he met Mashayekhi while he was collaborating as an art advisor with filmmaker Ali Hatami on his project ‘Kamal-ol-Molk’.

He also noted that “Mashayekhi did this drawing while he was taking lessons from me when he was due to play the role of the Qajar-era artist Kamal-ol-Molk.”

“The drawing is a simple one, but it has been created with love. I took this out of my treasure trove today, and I think I need to return it to its real owner who is his family,” Shakiba added.

Mashayekhi’s son Nader who received the artwork appreciated Shakiba, adding “We are collecting works by my father and this is one of them.”

His family plans to donate a collection of the legendary actor’s memorabilia to the Film Museum of Iran.

Shakiba’s exhibition is slated to run until April 19 at the art center.

Born in 1934, Mashayekhi who left his studies in Theater unfinished is a late Iranian actor.

He was hired by the newly established Dramatic Arts Center in 1957.

In 1963, he played a role in the short movie 'Snake Cover', directed by Hajir Daryoush.

He officially began his acting career in 1970.

Mashayekhi's debut movie 'Brick and Mirror' in 1965 did not keep him away from being involved in theater as he kept playing roles on stage for years and remained faithful to the fine art.

He has been honored with the First Grade Order of Art and Culture.

His roles in historical TV series such as 'Kamal-ol-Molk' and 'Hezar Dastan' exhibit his acting ability.

He appeared in numerous movies, including 'The Cow', 'Retribution', 'The Fateful Day', 'A House on the Water', 'Thirteen 59 (1980)' and 'Cheque'.

Mashayekhi also took part in several TV series such as 'Autumn in the Desert', 'Imam Ali', 'The Lost Paradise', 'Mother', 'Tabriz in Fog' and 'It's All There'.

He died on April 2 at the age of 85.

MG/MG