Abū al-Ḥasan Mustawfī, Mīrzā Abū al-Ḥasan Ghaffārī Mustawfī Kāshānī, son of Mīrzā Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad, and better known as Abū al-Ḥasan Awwal (d. 1212/1797), was a painter and historian. The Ghaffārī family had a long history of holding official government posts. Mīrzā Muʿizz al-Dīn Muḥammad was the governor of Kāshān, Qumm, Naṭanz and Jawshaqān during Karīm Khān Zand's time (Kalāntar Ḍarrābī, 316–317; Ghaffārī, fol. 5a).

Abū al-Ḥasan was born in Kāshān in the late 18th century. He was the first member of his family to take an interest in painting in Europ…