Prominent Iranian writer, painter and translator Mehdi Sahabi has died at the age of 66 in the French capital of Paris.

Known for his brilliant translations of English, French and Italian novels, Sahabi passed away after a heart attack on Monday.

Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time is Sahabi's best known translation on which he spent nearly 11 years of his life.

Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education, Charles Dickens' David Copperfield, Simone de Beauvoir's All Men are Mortal, Stendhal's Red and the Black, Italo Calvino's Baron in the Trees and Louis-Ferdinand Céline's Death on Credit are among his other memorable translations.

Sahabi also received Iran's Book of the Year award after which no literary translator was able to win the award for 18 years.

Despite having had experience in photography, journalism and acting, Sahabi will be best remembered for his countless translations of world classics.

TE/HGH