The gradual opening of foreign relations under the Safavid ruler shah ‘Abbas II (1642–66) generated radical changes in Iranian court society, especially in the arts. European diplomats, as well as the east India Companies, brought oil paintings to Iran as gifts, and visits by artists from abroad to the Iranian court strengthened the impact of foreign cultures on Iran. By the last quarter of the seventeenth century, naturalistic-style painting was popular, even though the rendition lacked a thorough understanding of the laws of perspective and modeling with light and shade. As they had done in previous eras, Iranian artists looked to foreign sources as points of departure, intentionally adopting those techniques that suited their own tastes and needs. The concept, subject matter and narrative style, however, remained unmistakably Persian.

The literature describing the life and times of the Qajar period (1786–1925) shows late nineteenth-century Iranian society in transition, adapting to modern and foreign ideas and technology. Nasir Al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848–96), the ablest and most successful of the Qajar sovereigns, exploited the mutual distrust between Great Britain and tsarist Russia to preserve Iran's independence despite their economic penetration and cultural influence. During his reign, there was an accelerated importation of European prototypes, such as paintings, prints, clothes and artifacts – a process already begun by his two predecessors, his great grandfather Fath ‘Ali shah (r. 1798–1834) and his father Mohammad Shah (r. 1834–48). His time in power coincided with a period of constant communication with European powers at home and abroad and a long procession of foreign travelers visiting what Europeans had perceived as the exotic “Orient.”