We know D.C. Get our free newsletter to stay in the know.
16th-century Tabriz artist Sultan-Muhammad, like other master painters of the Persian and Moghul courts, did not create frescoes, portraits, or landscapes. Such artists’ work was restricted to illustrations of religious books, which is one reason the colors of such pieces as “Celebration of Id,” a depiction of the last day of the Ramadan feast, remain so vivid today. That sly, richly textured painting is one of the highlights of the Sackler’s new exhibition, “Art of the Persian Courts,” and has brought Harvard professor emeritus of art history Stuart Cary Welch to town to discuss “Sultan-Muhammad: Painter/Saint,” who’s billed by the Sackler as the “most celebrated” of 16th-century Persian painters. At 6 p.m. at the Freer Gallery’s Meyer Auditorium, 12th & Jefferson Dr. SW. FREE. (202) 357-3200. (Mark Jenkins)