Mahmoud Zanganeh

Mahmoud Zangeneh, a self-taught Iranian painter, was born in 1933 in Ab-Anbar, Hamedan. As a child, he traveled with his father through various villages, an experience that later made rural landscapes the central subject of his work. After moving to Tehran to earn a living, he painted scenes of village homes and environments on cardboard and sold them on the street. By chance, one passerby became fascinated by the talent of this self-taught painter and took him to the Tehran School of Fine Arts, where he helped him gain a position as a school attendant. This gave Zangeneh the opportunity to learn from the school’s teachers and continue painting professionally. At the School of Fine Arts, he became acquainted with painters such as Hossein Behzad and Hannibal Alkhas. He held his first major exhibition in 1962 alongside works by Hannibal Alkhas at Gilgamesh Gallery in Tehran. A prolific artist, he participated in more than 138 domestic and international exhibitions. His works were shown in countries including the United States, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and Hungary. Alongside painting, Zangeneh also created sculptures from metal scraps and machine parts. He passed away in 1999.