14 Ottoman Miniature

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OTTOMANOTTOMANMINIATURE PAINTING


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What is miniatureWhat is miniaturepainting?painting?Miniature is a special kind of

painting or drawing included in abook.

Ottoman Miniature was an artform in the Ottoman Empire.

It was a part of the Ottoman Artstogether with illumination (tezhip),

calligraphy (hat), marbling paper(ebru) and bookbinding (cilt).

Ottoman miniature developed with

the traditions of Persian and


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Vocabulary of MiniatureVocabulary of MiniaturePaintingPaintingOttomans defined miniature

painting as tasvir or nakish.

The person who makes tasvir or

nakish was called Nakkash.The studios of Nakkashs was

called Nakkashane.


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Major ThemesMajor Themes

in the Ottoman miniaturein the Ottoman miniature accession to throne (clus), religious festival gatherings (muayede),

palace entertainments (meclis),

ambassador receptions (sarayda kabul),

rewarding of statesmen and ambassadors (hilat verilisi),

council meetings (divan toplantisi), Topkapi Palace,

military expeditions,

circumcision rituals,

trade groups' entertainments-,

sports contests,

funerals,

portraits of Ottoman rulers,

war and siege,

hunting,

city depictions


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By Levni Belgrad Campaign


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The Philosophy ofThe Philosophy ofOttoman MiniatureOttoman Miniature

PaintingPainting

Each kind of art has its own mentality.


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No SignNo Sign

Miniature painting is different from anordinary painting.

It has its own mentality and philosophy.Examples:

Generally, Ottoman miniatures were notsigned.

Because, Ottoman miniature painting is

the product of a world view that rejectindividualism.

Besides that, a miniature painting is acollective work of different people. The

head painter designs the composition


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Sufism: Escaping fromSufism: Escaping fromWorldlyWorldlyThe world-view of the Ottoman

miniature painting was different fromEuropean Renaissance Paintingtradition.

The painters did not aim to depict thehuman beings and other living or non-living beings realistically.

According to the world view of sufism,the worldly beings were notpermanent and worth adoring.

The Ottoman artists wanted to reach an

infinite and transcendent reality withtheir paintings so they stylized and


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History of Ottoman MiniatureHistory of Ottoman Miniature

PaintingPaintingDuring the reign of Mehmed II, a

painting academy calledNakkashane-i Rum was founded in

Topkap Palace.

The task of the artists in thisacademy was to create illuminatedpicture manuscripts for the Sultan

and the courtiers.Behzad was a famous miniature

painter in Tebriz. When Yavuz

Sultan Selim conquered Tabriz,Behzad and his u ils moved to


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Famous Ottoman NakkashsFamous Ottoman Nakkashs

The period of Suleiman the Magnificentwas the golden age of Ottomanminiature.

Nakkash Osman was the most

important miniature painter of thisperiod.

Orhan Pamuks novel My Name is Red"is a fictional account of Osman and hisworkshop.

Matrakci Nasuh was an anotherfamous miniature painter during the

reigns of Yavuz Sultan Selim andSuleiman the Magnificent.


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16th Century16th Century

By the end of 16th century and inthe beginning of 17th century,especially in the reign of

Ahmed I, album paintingsbecame popular.

The most popular version of thesealbums was Surname-iHmayun.

This was a special Ottomantradition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_I


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Surname-i HmayunSurname-i Hmayun

Important events related to the palace weredepicted by painters and explained in theform of poem in the special album calledSurnama-i Hmayun.

Shortly, the Surname-i Hmayun was theImperial Festival Book.

The Surname-i Hmayun included mainlyimperial weddings and circumcision

festivals.These albums were commissioned by the

Ottoman Imperial family, usually by theSultan at the time.

The Surname depicts the festivities: whenthe events took lace which includes in


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1582 C1582 Circumcisionircumcision FestivalFestival

In 1582, Murat III, wanted to show the power ofthe Ottoman empire to all people and decidedto show it through a festival.

He ordered to prepare a circumcision festival forhis prince, Mehmed

The preparation of the festival for Mehmedstarted one year before.

The famous Hippodrome in Istanbul was selectedas the place for having festival.

All Istanbuls participated in the festival.There were exhibited the goods or products.

Everyone ccontributed to the festival withshowing their performances.

From time to time, musicians, dancers, sportmenand all kind of demonstrators also performed in


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JestersJesters


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17th Century17th Century

In 17th century, miniaturepainting was also popular amongthe citizens of Istanbul.

Artists under the name of "BazaarPainters" who worked with otherartisans in the bazaars ofIstanbul (Carsi Ressamlari)


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Life in a CaravansaraiLife in a Caravansarai


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AvratAvrat

PazarPazar


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TheTheyoungyoung

loverloverwith awith aluteluteserenadiserenading hisng hisbeloved,beloved,who iswho is

lookinglookingfrom thefrom thewindowwindow


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Tulip EraTulip Era

"Tulip Period" occurred during the reignof Ahmed III.

Some art used the unique style called"Ottoman Baroque" in this period.

The characteristics of the period carriedthe influences of French baroque.

The most famous painter of this period

was Levni.He depicted the circumcision festival for

the sons of Ahmed III.

His style of painting was influenced by

Western painting and very different


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1720: A Circumcision1720: A CircumcisionFestivalFestival Circumcision festivity in 1720 lasted 15 days. It took place in Okmeydan.

This festival was for the 4 princes of Sultan IIIAhmed, some sons of two high-rankingOttoman officials and thousands of children ofpoor citizens of Istanbul.

All the organizations of the Empire participated inthis huge event.

The preparations were initiated months before.

Artisans, theatre groups, clowns, musicians, andcitizens joined in the festivities.

This festival was described in an album, calledSurname-i Vehbi

The Miniatures of this album were depicted byLevni and poems were written by Vehbi.


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CARRIAGECARRIAGE

Princes Mustafa andMehmed, attended by acrowded procession,are driven in a carriageto the Topkapi Palace tobe circumcised.Surname-i Vehbi,Topkapi Palace MuseumLibrary in Istanbul,Collection Ahmed III,MS 3593.


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OkmeOkme

ydanydanbeingbeingmademade

readyreadyforforthethe

festivifestivitiesties

***

ThThe


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TheThearrivalarrivalof theof thesultansultanatatOkmeyOkmeydan:dan:BeginnBeginning ofing ofthetheprocesprocessionsion

*


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The firstThe firstperformances andperformances andthe banquet forthe banquet forthe Janissarythe Janissarycorpscorps

***


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****

Thebanquetfor high-

rankinggovernment officials


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******

Fireworksdisplays atOkmeydan atthe end of thefirst day


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Performances by acrobats, singers, dancersPerformances by acrobats, singers, dancers


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performersperformers


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The banquet for the sheiks and seyyidsThe banquet for the sheiks and seyyids


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The parade of the guildsmen: Farmers,The parade of the guildsmen: Farmers,millers, and bread-makersmillers, and bread-makers


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The parade of the guildsmen:The parade of the guildsmen:Candlemakers and barbersCandlemakers and barbers


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Evening entertainment on the Golden HornEvening entertainment on the Golden Horn


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The circumcision parade: The military bandThe circumcision parade: The military band

Th E d f F ti lTh E d f F ti l Th lt t ldTh lt t ld


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The End of Festival:The End of Festival: The sultan strews goldThe sultan strews goldcoinscoins


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The End of Ottoman MiniatureThe End of Ottoman Miniature

PaintingPaintingAfter Levni, Westernization of

Ottoman culture continued.

With the introduction of printing

press and photography, no moreilluminated picture manuscriptswere produced.

From then on, wall paintings or oilpaintings on toils were popular.

So the miniature painting lost itsfunction.

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14 Ottoman Miniature