Majnun visited by his father in the desert (painting, verso; text, recto), folio from a manuscript of the Layla and Majnun by Nizami

108 Majnun in the Wilderness, from Laylā va Majnūn Recto: text Verso: text and illustration Folio: 40.1 × 27.3 cm (15 13/16 × 10 3/4 in.) 2002.50.152 Published: Christie’s 1994a, lot 32. In the tragic romance between Layla and Qays (later known as majnūn—“mad” or “possessed”), the two met and fell in love as schoolchildren. Layla’s father rejected Qays’s marriage proposal and separated the pair, and, on his orders, Layla married another man. Majnun, suffering the pain of unfulfilled love, felt that he could no longer be part of human society and became a recluse in the desert wilderness, living among the animals, who accepted his behavior and understood his agony. Although married, Layla remained faithful to Majnun and confined herself to writing poetry. In the tragic conclusion to the story, Majnun died on his beloved’s grave. The artist of this painting has illustrated an episode in which Majnun’s maternal uncle, Shaykh Salim, visits the love-stricken man in the desert and pleads with him to return to his former life and family. Majnun is shown half naked, a piece of blue cloth tied around his waist, embracing and talking to a deer. Salim, fully clothed in a long brown coat and a white turban, gestures to his nephew. The landscape setting represents a desert oasis with a stream, trees, grass, and flowers. Majnun and Salim are surrounded by animals, most of them in pairs whose members interact with each other, reinforcing the viewer’s impression of Majnun’s lonely solitude. Mika M. Natif