College of Fine Arts

History

In 1938 (1317) it was decided that a Faculty of Architectural Engineering headed by Hasan Siddiqui and under the supervision of the Ministry of Arts and Crafts be established. In the first year, about 20 students were selected that were mainly volunteers from other faculties (especially the Technical School). At that time architecture was not well-known in Iran and local craftsmen and traditional builders carried out the task of constructing buildings.

Hasan Siddiqui, a graduate student of École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Architectural Engineering. However, in effect Hossein Taherzadeh Behzad, who once served as president of the School of Fine Industry, became the dean of the faculty. This was because, even though Siddiqui's was the supposed Dean, he did not even visit the faculty once.

The faculty was opened in front of the National Congress in one of the halls of the Institute of Fine Crafts. Among the tutors were people like Mohsen Foroughi, Roland Dubreuil and Taherzadeh Behzad who taught architecture. Dr. Bahrami taught History of Art and Gholam Reza Sheikh, one of the students of Kama-ol-molk, taught painting. Sculpture was managed by Rafi Halati, who was a student of Kamal-ol-molk too. In the second year, another 20 students were added to the initial group. Due to lack of space, the faculty was moved to the Iran and Germany School in Sargord Sakhaei Street, where more rooms were dedicated to the faculty of architectural engineering.

In this period, the position of dean of faculty was given to Ghaffari who was one of the senior officials of the government and had experience in diplomatic activities. At the time, Ghaffari was the head of Iran and Germany school, which was under the supervision of the Ministry of Arts and Crafts. The school trained both engineers and technicians who were active in the fields of blacksmithing, carpentry, mechanics and so on. At this time Hussein Taherzadeh Behzad taught fine industries. At the end of the second year, the faculty was disbanded and replaced with the Academy of Architecture with the three courses of architecture, painting and sculpture, which were taught at the Marvi School.

Ismaeil Meraat, Minister of Education (at the time), consulted some experts about establishing an Academy. These people were architects, painters, sculptors and scholars of the time such as Andre Godard, Mohsen Foroughi, Mohammadali Heydarian (former student of Kamal-ol-Molk), Mohsen Moghaddam, Abolhasan Siddiqui, Roland Dubreuil, Maxim Siroux, Khanbabaeiyani, Khachik Pablouyan , Gholamreza Ebadi, Alexander Moser, Asadollah Ghahramanpour and others.

In the negotiations Andre Godard was chosen as the honorary chairman of the academy. As he was not an Iranian national, he could not be the dean. For this reason, Mohsen Foroughi was elected for this position. One hundred thousand Rials was determined annually for creation of the acadmy and the Marvi School became the chosen site for the Academy of Architecture. At that time, the Marvi School was behind the Sepahsalar mosque and because seminary students were studying in the Sepahsalar, this location was deemed not very appropriate. In fact, subsequent events proved this point, since it was not long before certain conflicts between religious scholars and academy students arose. Complaints and protests continued until Mohammad Ali Foroughi – the Prime Minister at the time - was notified. However, with the mediations of his son, Mohsen Froughi the situation was diffused.

Despite the friction, the Academy of Architecture was held in the Marvi School for two years. Since the Ministry of Education desired an academy comparable to international standards, the Academy of Architecture was based on the School of Fine Arts in Paris (Ecole des Baux Arts, Paris). Since in those days, the University of Tehran had newly been established and it had no school of art, it was decided that the Academy of Architecture be a part of the University of Tehran.

The training time was divided into two parts: the first included theoretical training and the second was practical training. The first period was two years and included training to improve artistic, intellectual and practical capabilities of architects, painters and sculptors who enrolled in the program. Passage from the first part to the second was based on achieving the required examination results.

The second part of training comprised of higher education in architecture, painting and sculpture. This period did not have any time limitations but it was not less than two years. There was no final exam, but students should have gradually participated in competitions and received points. After acquiring sufficient points, the students could request to begin their final project and with the permission of academy council, they began their thesis projects. The Supreme Council of the Academy was formed twice a year (October and April) to judge the final designs. Students whose design was accepted in the Council were known as the graduates of the Academy and could use titles such as "architect", "painter" or "sculptor" and were rewarded a diploma. The graduate students of architecture had a Masters of Architecture degree and graduates of painting and sculpture had the equivalent of a Bachelor of Arts.

Andre Godard invited a number of French architects who worked in Satnab Co., designing and constructing the University of Tehran's buildings, to teach in the Academy. They were Maxim Siroux, Dubreuil, Moser (Swiss origin) and Khachykpablouyan. Mohsen Foroughi also worked in the company. He, with the help of Ismaeil Meraat, also invited some teachers of the Arts and Craft School to teach in the Academy. Individuals such as Hasan Siddiqui, Ali Mohammad Heydariyan, Hassan Ali Vaziri, Gholam Reza Ebadi and Mohsen Moghadam were invited but Hassan Vaziri declined the invitation. Asadollah Ghahramanpour was elected for the office works of Academy. Dubreuil planned the courses of architecture field and Siddiqui did it for painting and sculpture on the basis of educational planning of School of Fine Arts in Paris. Siddiqui had disagreements about the plans with Godard so he withdrew himself. The disagreements were apparently due to exact replication of the Paris School of Fine Arts model of teaching, which Siddiqui disapproved, since he believed that the Iranian system should also benefit from the experiences of other European models. Heydariyan and Siddiqui were Kamal-ol-molk School students, Ebadi and Moghaddam were graduates of Paris School of Fine Arts and Paris Louvre History of Art School. The other teachers of the field of painting were Mrs. Martin Aminfar who was graduated from the School of Decorative Arts in Paris, had an Iranian husband and taught Iranian decorative design.

After two years, the Academy moved to the new building of the Technical College of University of Tehran and became under the supervision of University of Tehran. Here, the Academy consisted of only two rooms, which apparently were made to perform as electricity laboratories and were left unused. The Academy of Architecture, under the law of "Twenty-ninth of Farvardin" and with the approval of the National Assembly, continued to work with the new name of The Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran.

Activities of The Academy of Architecture continued for two years until the new building of the Faculty of Fine Arts finished (with the supervision of Dubreuil and Foroughi) and students moved to the new premises. During this period and until the Faculty of Fine Arts worked independently, the first students of different fields also graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts.

In the 1330s the Faculty of Fine Arts expanded rapidly and new subjects were established. Among the other academic activities, the faculty acquired 6 new fields of study:

1. Department of Architecture: undergraduate, masters and Ph.D. courses.

2- Department of Visual Arts: undergraduate courses in Sculpture, Painting, Photography, Visual Communication and masters courses in Visual Communication, Art Research and Ph.D. of Art Research.

3. Department of Performing Arts: undergraduate courses in Directing, Acting, Dramaturgy, Stage Design, Puppet Theater and masters courses in Dramaturgy and Cinema.

4. Department of Music: undergraduate courses.

5- Department of Urban Planning: undergraduate, masters and Ph.D. courses.

6. Department of Industrial Design: undergraduate and masters courses.

In 2005 (1384), the Faculty of Fine Arts changed title once again to the College of Fine Arts, consisting of the 3 Schools of Architecture, Urban Planning, Visual Arts, and a research center entitled "Culture and Art". The College of Fine Arts has now over 120 academic members. Among the alumni of the college are celebrities and prominent figures in Iran and even abroad. These faces have won numerous awards at art festivals in the world as a student, staff or graduates.

The list of College presidents since its establishment are as follows: