F. Colombari was an Italian officer and painter that served in the Qajar Iranian army and at the Qajar court between 1833 and 1848.
Biography
Colombari was an engineer and watercolour artist, originally hailing from Piedmont. Eventually gaining the rank of colonel, he moved to Qajar Iran in 1833. While in Qajar Iran, where he served in the army between 1833-1848, he also belonged to a circle of artists close to the young crown prince Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, and was himself in particular a close confidant of the latter. During the tenure of the chief-minister Hajj Mirza Aghasi, Colombari assisted him in reorganizing the army, as well as on reorganizing the production of weapons at the Tehran arsenal. Colombari made numerous paintings, and is said to have possibly made a notable influence on the then contemporary Iranian artist Abu 'l-Hassan, better known as Sani ol molk. In 1844, Colombari made a watercolour painting of Naser ad-din Shah Qajar. In 1847, he made a watercolour portrait of Mohammad Shah Qajar, the successor to Naser ad-din Shah on the throne.