When I saw this painting of Ane Mohmmad Tatari I wished it was mine so I could never turn my gaze away from it and stare at it for hours. There was a strange feeling in the face of this localized Mona Lisa making it all the more familiar. There is a vague feature on her face certainly not happy – despite the flower in her hand among all those glittering magical colours and the subtle playful moments here and there in the picture. After seeing lots of creative appropriations of ‘Mona Lisa’, this one looked completely different to me. The eyes of this mournful Persian Mona Lisa invited me to narratives of some mystifying and agonizing pain, of local girls who have probably set themselves on fire the morning after an unwanted marriage, or perhaps of those who have run away to endless meadows. To me, this grief-stricken girl was reminiscent of some failed and broken love and I felt an inconceivable closeness and intimacy with her. I cannot figure out what the artist intended to express through these warm colors and those figures hiding behind the green girl, yet I could feel nothing but sorrow and apprehension. Still when I gaze at her, I cannot elude the fear and despair, of the mysterious girl who is probably reaching a tragic end soon.
