Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi is a complex figure--not only was he a key player in the country's 1979 revolution and a prime minister during its brutal and chaotic aftermath, he's also an artist, an architect, and the head of the Iranian Academy of the Arts (the campus of which he designed). Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, whom he met in the days before the revolution through their shared passion for the arts, is also a famous artist in Iran, and her sculptures can be found in several of Tehran's public squares.

A believer that art plays a secondary role to political engagement, Mousavi once wrote that “the paint brush will never take the place of the communal struggle for freedom. It must be said that the expressive work of any painter or artist will not minimize the need to perform his social responsibilities. Yet it is within the scope of these responsibilities that his art can provide a vision for a way of living in an alternative future.” A press release for one of Mousavi's exhibitions in Tehran described his work as an "exploration in designs, motifs and a kind of dreamlike intuition of lines, volumes and ascending forms on the context of an Oriental and poetic aesthetic.... The paintings have both the touch of primordial memories and look upon modern milieus and innovative experiences."

To get a better idea of the Iranian opposition leaders' art, we dug up these images of works by Mousavi and Rahnavard, including several photographs from a 2007 retrospective of Mousavi's paintings and architectural projects.

Mir Hossein Mousavi's "The Queen's Park" (1972). ; Via merip.org

Mir Hossein Mousavi's "Musical Notations" (1967). ; Via merip.org

A painting by Iranian opposition leader Mir Hussein Mousavi. ; Via www.honar.ac.ir

Zahra Rahnavard's "Narcissus of Lovers," a sculpture said to depict maternal love, was installed in Tehran's Mother Square in 1994. ; Via zahrarahnavard.com

Mousavi with his paintings at his 2007 retrospective. ; Via the Iranian Academy of the Arts

The crowd at the opening of Mousavi's 2007 retrospective at the Iranian Academy of the Arts. ; Via the Iranian Academy of the Arts

A man admires one of Mousavi's text works at the 2007 retrospective. ; Via the Iranian Academy of the Arts

Mousavi greets a well-wisher at his 2007 retrospective, which included photographs of his architectural project. ; Via the Iranian Academy of the Arts

Several of Mousavi's paintings from his 2007 retrospective. ; Via the Iranian Academy of the Arts

Watch this video for more glimpses of Rahnavard's work: