The hero Rustam kills the White Demon, from a manuscript of the Shahnama (Book of Kings)

The Shahnama or "The Book of Kings," written by the poet Ferdowsi in approximately 1010 CE, is a literary classic relating the mythical and historical past of pre-Islamic Persian kings. According to the story, Kay Kavus, the arrogant ruler of Iran, was captured and blinded by demons under the command of the White Demon. The hero Rustam freed Kay Kavus, but needed the demon's liver to cure the king's blindness. In this painting, Rustam is shown in the final stages of combat with the fearsome and powerful White Demon, as he thrusts his dagger to extract the liver; the demon's prone position and its severed limbs scattered nearby indicate its defeat.

The artists express the drama and tension of this episode by way of two types of spaces in the painting. The inside of the White Demon's dark cave, the primary scene of action, is shown in cross-section and defined by blue and gray rocks. The huge size of the demon whose "carcass filled the cave"—thereby indicating the enormity of Rustam's task—is conveyed through the size of the cave that tightly frames the figures. Outside the cave, Rustam's guide and his faithful horse await anxiously for the outcome of the combat. The text above and below the painting describes the illustrated action.