Jalil Ziapour was born on the 25th of April 1920, in Bandar Anzali, north of Iran, on the Caspian Sea. In 1938 (at the age of 18), upon completion of his secondary education in his home-town, he moved to Tehran, in order to continue further studies. His first passion being music, he succeeded in gaining entry to the Conservatory of Music in Tehran, with the intention of studying composition.

He later reflected on this period of his life, and about how his initial intention to study music led him to a totally different field of artistic endeavour: "Not long after my entry into the Conservatory, due to the political climate of the time, our Belgian director resigned from his post, and returned to Europe. As a result, the faculty was disbanded and the specialised course in composition was discontinued. Much to my disappointment, I decided to leave the conservatory, and to try my hand at something completely different: Traditional Decorative Arts."

After spending a period of time at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied traditional manuscript illumination, miniature, carpet design, tile design, and painting, he gained entry to the faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran in 1941 - where he avidly chose to continue with Interior Design, Painting, and Sculpture. By 1946, he had succeeded in graduating with honours, and was given the Cultural medal of Honour for gaining first place in his year.

Due to his outstanding efforts, he was offered a scholarship in the same year to complete his post-graduate studies in France - at the National High Academy of Fine Arts in Paris (Ecolenational Superieure des Beaux-Arts) with Painting and Sculpture as the core subjects.

But his boundless energy and enthusiasm for absorbing and expanding his knowledge of Art & Design, compelled him to successfully apply for permission from the French ministry of Education, and together with the help of an official letter of recommendation, managed to also enrol at the Grand Chaumier college – there to concomitantly study other subjects including History of Art & Culture, History of Design and Technique, Anthropology, and Costume Design.

His training was further enhanced by studying with some of the best-known art theoreticians of the time, such as Suverbie (Art) and Niclousse (Sculpture.)

In 1949 he returned to his native Iran, after gaining his doctorate in Art & Design. There, in order to make a progressive impression on modern art, as against the ingrained traditional style, he and three of his close associates formed a small organisation which they named ‘The Fighting Cock’. They also started to publish a magazine under the same title.

On the subject the artist explains:

After returning to Iran, I found our art too far removed from the rest of the world and was a superficial copy with no real substance, therefore in an endeavour to revolutionize the art in Iran and to steer away from an excessive inclination towards tradition, we founded Khorooss Jangi (The Fighting Cock.) The rooster was chosen as a logo because of its aesthetic form and bright colours relating to art and painting, and its nature as a fighting bird symbolizing struggle and subversiveness. The slogan for the organization was chosen from a poem by Farrokhi-Sisstani (Iranian poet):

Turned into myth is the epic of Alexander, an ancient tale beyond our sight
Tell us a now a new story, for in the new lies the sweetness of our delight.

Returning to Iran, Jalil Ziapour, with his acquired knowledge and fresh outlook on art, applied his own ideology and after extensive research wrote the book ‘The Neutralisation of Ideas Ancient & Contemporary’ which was the first step in a long road towards changing the face of art in Iran and giving it a new meaning in common thought.

He was an artist ahead of his time, a knowledgeable critic, and the leader of a movement which even under the most difficult and restrictive cultural and social conditions, still managed to triumph exultantly.

His efforts spanned nearly half a century of giving various lectures on cultural, social, and artistic issues - both public and private, producing many works of art, the writing of numerous reference and historical books, articles, and interviews.

He held many high positions within the government sector, and was compared in some ways to famous new-wave writers and poets of the time.

His predominant use of geometric forms derived from and inspired by Persian visual art, portrayed in a modern and cubistic fashion, created a new style in art, earning him the title of ‘Father of Modern Art in Iran.’

It is said that his paintings possess an inimitably personal style, and are therefore considered not only cultural symbols, but also national treasures.

It was due to his affinity with the youth, that in 1953 the Iranian Ministry of Art requested that Ziapour assist in founding the Academy of Visual Arts. He also helped with the establishment of the Faculty of Decorative Arts within the University of Tehran.

Throughout his life, he worked fastidiously towards evolving and exalting modernism in Iranian art, whilst opposing all forms of imitation. Despite ageing and debilitating illness, he continued to learn and to keep pace with the constantly changing face of art, passing his knowledge to the young by lecturing at numerous educational institutions, and acting as advisor to post-graduate students.

This respected artist and teacher passed away on the 21st of December 1999.