
According to the epic poem Khamsa, Farhad was a stonecutter who had the misfortune to fall in love with Princess Shirin. The jealous King Khusrau promised Shirin to Farhad if he could perform the superhuman task of cutting a road through the mountains of Bistan. In this miniature, Shirin visits Farhad in the mountains. The hapless romantic has just recovered from a fainting spell after the shock of seeing her.