My Name is Red

Enishte welcomes the murderer to his home and asks the purpose of his visit. The murderer explains his presence through a story about a famous painter who used both Eastern and Western techniques. In old age the painter began to follow a pious sheikh and eventually condemned all his former works and burned the library containing his illustrations, dying in the blaze. Enishte asks whether the murderer is afraid of the paintings they have made for the Sultan’s book. As he has never seen the final painting—a portrait of the Sultan—the murderer cannot tell if their work is sacrilegious; however, Elegant was convinced of its heretical nature. This, the murderer notes, is the reason Elegant was killed. The murderer insists that Allah will punish painters on Judgement Day, but Enishte corrects him, explaining the difference between painting and idolatry. Furthermore, Enishte explains that no artistic works are pure and that Western influence has created new masterpieces that should be celebrated because they combine different techniques. He also tells the murderer that artwork survives through copying and that true artists do not pay attention to the accusations of their enemies, but create art based on their own moral code.

The murderer suggests that the two of them should show the other miniaturists the final painting, but Enishte resists doing so.