Scientific Journal of Pazhuhesh-e Honar

The story of the Companions of the Cave, which appears in historical and interpretive texts of religions, has always been a subject for artists of different periods to depict. These texts and images have been influenced by each other, so examining these relationships and influence shows how new identities are created in expression and visual qualities in a common subject. In this regard, the hypertextuality of Gerard Genette (1930-2018), which deals with the influence and connection between texts, examines the relationships of texts in two categories: transfiguration and homogeneity. The image of the Companions of the Cave in the Falnama of Tahmasbi (967-962 AH) is also influenced by various verbal and visual pretexts, and most of its themes are Islamic. The main purpose of the research is to examine the hypertextuality intended by Genette in the image of the Companions of the Cave in the Falnama of Tahmasbi, and the secondary purpose is to examine the intra- and extra-symbolic pretexts of this image. This research seeks to answer these questions: What are the relationships between the hypertextuality of the image of the Companions of the Cave in Tahmasbi's Falnameh and Genet's ideas? What are the intra-semiotic and extra-semiotic pretexts of this image?

The research is conducted in a qualitative and comparative-analytical manner, and the method of collecting materials is library method, observation, and use of internet sources. Finally, the results obtained are that the painting of the Companions of the Cave of Falnameh as a hypertext is derived from several interdisciplinary pretexts, non-exclusively combined, and has a formal permutational tragonism compared to its visual pretexts (the painting of the Ilkhanid period and the Christian painting). This painting adheres more to the Quran in expressing Islamic concepts and shows a formal borrowing from the Islamic thoughts of Sufis. Also, due to the use of archetypes such as the revolving cave, the circle, and the mother's womb in expressing strength and security, rebirth, and resurrection, it is not a mere imitation and has become a hypertext for this multicultural story.