Aydin Aghdashloo was born in 1940 in Rasht to a Caucasian father and a mother with Qajar ancestry. From a young age, he was fascinated by painting, and at 14, he sold his first painting, a copy of Velazquez, for 40 Tomans.
At 19, Aghdashloo entered the Faculty of Fine Arts at Tehran University but left his studies halfway through. In 1975, he held his first solo exhibition at the Iran-American Association in Tehran. After nearly 40 years, in 2014, he held his second solo exhibition at Assar Art Gallery.
After the Iranian Revolution, Aghdashloo focused more on writing and graphic design, with his works published in various magazines. He also taught at the Boys' Visual Arts Conservatory and the Tehran School of Decorative Arts. Aghdashloo played a key role in establishing the Reza Abbasi Museum and served as its head for a period.
In the early 1970s, Aghdashloo began meticulously reconstructing and intentionally destroying works by old masters, resulting in the collection "Memories of Destruction." He used Renaissance art to tell personal stories and later incorporated Iranian art, such as Safavid and Qajar era paintings and calligraphy, into his works. Other notable series include "Years of Fire and Snow," "Apocalypse Disaster," "Mystery," and "Angels' Intercession."
Iranian thinker Dariush Shayegan writes about Aghdashloo: "His art lacks harsh and melancholic emotions; it does not appeal to the heart's grandeur, nor does it succumb to instinct's pulse or the enchantment of the unconscious world. He doesn't give in to the demons of anxiety, nor does he allow confusion, temptation, or greed to take over. Instead, his intellect is clear, transparent, and somewhat cold. Aghdashloo possesses a rare insight that enables him to view the absurdity of this mad world with a detached perspective."