The painting of the Qazvin school in the second half of the Safavid period is considered a turning point in the evolution of the aesthetics and semantics of Iranian painting. Relying on rational tendencies, balanced compositions, transparent colors, and a tendency towards symbolic expression, this school provided a platform in which the epic and mythical narratives of the Shahnameh were not only represented visually, but also interpreted semantically. One of the most important examples of this tendency is the Shahnameh version of Shah Ismail II; a version that, despite the limited volume of illustrations, has visual coherence, accuracy in the narrative, and a tendency towards purgatory and fantasy imagery, and has an important place in the transmission of mystical and moral ideas in the guise of an epic narrative. On the other hand, one of the fundamental elements in understanding Iranian painting, especially in the Safavid period, is the position of the imaginative power; a power that, especially in the philosophy of Ibn Sina, plays the role of an intermediary between the world of sense and the world of reason. Ibn Sina considers the imaginative power to be a force that is capable of taking partial forms from sensory perception, then creating a new and reasonable form by combining, detailing, and manipulating them.