فارسیHossein Mahjoubi, a prominent contemporary painter, was born in 1930 in Lahijan and developed an interest in painting from a young age. After studying at Alborz High School, he graduated in 1959 from the Faculty of Fine Arts with a degree in painting, while also receiving training in architecture. His talent was recognized early on; in 1956, even before completing his studies, he won the first prize at the Iran–America Society Exhibition.
In addition to his work as a painter, Mahjoubi played an important role in landscape architecture. The design and construction of Tehran’s Saei Park, as well as his contribution to the creation of several major parks such as Mellat, Laleh, Niavaran, and Jamshidieh, are among his notable achievements. The poetic and dreamlike visual world of his artworks earned him the title “Painter of Paradise.”
Mahjoubi’s visual language is defined by slender, ascending trees, horses freely roaming in nature, and the clay-tiled rooftops of northern Iran. By simplifying nature and focusing on scenes that often go unnoticed, he creates a personal and distinctive world—one in which the essence of Gilan and his unmistakable signature style remains visible even when depicting non-Iranian landscapes. As Aydin Aghdashloo writes, the sight of those parallel trees, red-tiled roofs, and free-running horses immediately brings Mahjoubi’s name to mind. Using diluted colors and delicate brushwork, he creates spaces that are gentle and serene, yet infused with nostalgia and a sense of distant, cherished memories.
Mahjoubi’s paintings are not mere representations of nature; like abstract painters, he gives considerable importance to rhythm, space, and movement, using natural elements as a foundation for organizing these visual concepts. The refinement of the poplar lines and the fluid rendering of the horses recall the traditions of Persian miniature painting. With a contemporary approach, he incorporates the linear and stippling techniques of various miniature schools into his work.
Throughout his career, he held more than ninety solo exhibitions and participated in hundreds of group exhibitions in Iran and abroad. His honors include a nomination for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1978 for illustrating The Legend of Rain and the “Art for Peace” Award in 2018. In May 2021, coinciding with his 91st birthday, a dedicated gallery of his works opened at the Negarestan Garden Museum, and later that year, a street in Tehran was named after him.
Alongside painting, Mahjoubi was actively involved in artistic events, cultural research, and educational activities, and he is recognized as one of the enduring figures of contemporary Iranian art.