Tehran: A leading figure in Iranian miniature painting, Mahmoud Farshchian, died Saturday at the age of 95 in the United States, where he had lived for years, Iranian media reported.

Farshchian, "a renowned painter and emblematic figure of Iranian art has died," the Iranian Academy of Arts reported on its website.

Born in January 1930 in Isfahan, central Iran, he was considered the leading contemporary renovator of Persian miniatures.

After completing his studies in his hometown, he went to Vienna, Austria, where he studied Western art for seven years, according to the Academy's website.

In his work, Farshchian drew inspiration from classical Persian poetry, sacred texts including the Koran and the Bible, as well as Iranian mystical traditions.

One of his most famous paintings, The Evening of Ashura, depicts the events that occurred after the death of Hussein, a central figure in Shiite Islam, the state religion of Iran.

Residing for years in New Jersey with his family, he only visited Iran occasionally.

On Thursday, the official IRNA news agency, citing the artist's wife, reported that he had contracted pneumonia and was receiving treatment at home.

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