MINIATURE
The
basic characteristics of form, design, colour and
representation in Turkish art developed primarily in the realm of miniature
painting. The Turkish miniature style was influenced by many trends and
developed over the centuries from the empires of Central
Asia to the Seljuks and
from the foundation of the Ottoman Empire
to the conquest of Istanbul
and the Tulip era
It was during the Seljuk era that
miniature painting attained the stature of national art. It was during this
period that Nakishane (schools of embroidery) were
established. An exchange of miniature artists about the same time between Turkey and Iran further
influenced these arts in both countries. The Ottoman style in miniatures made
itself evident in the 15th century, leading to the production of classic examples
in the 16th Century.
The romantic scenes of landscaping
in Persian miniatures were simplified in Ottoman miniature by the reducing
detailed landscape scenes to plain backgrounds. Human figures, buildings, and
other main elements of the subject predominated. In classical Turkish
miniatures, lines are straight, colours are vivid and
the style is narrative. Miniature art is known fo its
strongly-built heroes, simplicity, selection of themes from real life and the
powerful concept of colour. The most important
studies on miniature painting after the Republican era began were carried out
by Ord. Prof. Süheyl Ünver.
courses are supported by the
Ministry of Culture with a view towards popularizing the art. Work on
miniatures is carried out in Istanbul,
Ankara,
Konya,
Izmir,
and Kütahya provinces.
Turkish
Miniatures in the 16th Century
Turks had the tradition to
illustrate manuscripts during the cultural periods before Islamic belief. Paper
that could be rolled started to be made in China with
plant fibers in 105 B.C. No written or illustrated document has yet been found
from the time of the Chinese Han dynasty, of Huns and Göktürks.
Nevertheless, the large quantities
of stone engravings, textiles, ceramics, works of art made of metal, wood,
leather which have survived to the present day, prove that the above mentioned
cultural circles were quite developed in other fields of art. The oldest
examples of Turkish pictures for walls are from the 6th, 7th
and 8th centuries. The withering influence of natural conditions
have prevented the survival of these first examples.
The Oldest
Turkish Illustrated Documents
The oldest illustrated documents
on paper among Turkish tribes, are from the period succeeding Akhuns. These documents dating from 717-719 are in Turkish,
Chinese and Arabic and they belong to a Turkish emir who battled with Moslem
armies in Pencikent near Samarkand.
This prince was taken prisoner, and his palace was ruined 722. The wall drawing
are the most important part of Turkish cultural treasures. Von le Coq who has
researched Central Asian Turkish culture writes this: "Turks have
scattered all of their written cultural products in the dusty roads of steppes
and deserts while migrating to the west."
Samarkand was
renowned during 6th-8th centuries by its drawing
workshops where illustrations on wood, plaster and leather were made. These
works influenced greatly the Anatolian Seljuk period. The most important
development of the 9th century Uygur Turks
in the art of painting, was accomplished by the painters and their school in
the town of Kizilkent.
Their sense of light in pictures and their search for the influence and
impression of shadow and light, served largely for the formation of Seljuk
miniature school and canalized it.
The Tun-Huang
monastery and library of Uygur Turks has a special
importance. Among thousands of books in the library there are the oldest
Turkish gilded and miniature manuscripts. The oldest wooden print and
illustrated book in the world belongs to Uygurs and
is in the above library. The date of the book is 868. Another important aspect
of this find is that some manuscripts have been written in letters same with
the ones on the Göktürk Orhun
epitaphs.
Moslem
Miniatures
The
oldest miniatures found in Moslem circles are from the 9th, 10th,
11th centuries and they have been found in Egypt. Islamic
sources of later periods also confirm this fact. Seljuk Turks established the
first school of miniatures in Baghdad
within their vast empire covering Turkestan, Iran, Mesopotamia
and Anatolia in the 12th
century. This school has continued until the end of the 14th
century, but the most important works and examples are from the 13th
century.
Islamic culture was influenced
also by antique heritage in the field of miniatures. The books of the antique
age were read and translated. These manuscripts were illustrated. Moslems used
these original illustrations in the translations; but although the text were not
changed in the later translations, the miniatures were made differently. There
are even differences of style in these early works. The miniatures of the
antique age are disorganised and most of them have
descriptive qualities. In Seljuk miniatures, on the contrary, the subject was
composedly depicted. The subjects were taken from the antique age, whereas the
style was influenced by oriental, Uygur painting. The
main characteristics of the Seljuk-Baghdad school were vigour,
briskness, power of expression, caricature quality, over ornamentation, lack of
scenery and accentuation of figures. Before starting to study the Ottoman
miniature, I shall refer to two more schools of miniature related to Turks.
This attitude has a main reason, and that is the inevitable necessity to know
the contradictory schools in order to comprehend to one under study.
The Chinese influence in the 14th
century Mongolian miniatures, is felt in the landscapes made with Chinese ink.
The dominant characteristics of those pictures were Chinese style clouds, the
curved lines and flower outlines. The colours were
dull. There were no figures in the early works. Scenery and figures have been
united in the Mongolian miniatures after the Chinese influence ended. Realism,
portrait Characteristics, light and shadow, perspective were dominant in large
figures. The figures got smaller towards the end of the 15th
century, during Tamerlane reign. The surfaces were
covered with superficial and decorative all over designs. The dominant subjects
were romantic stories. The animals in "Kelile
and Dimne" fables were pictured within
sceneries. Folk stories such as "Hüsrev and Shirin", "Leyla and Mecnun" have been depicted in the poetic atmosphere of
poet Sadi. The abstract expression gave the same
value to each figure as in the carpet motifs.
The 16th
Century Ottoman Miniatures
The
conquest of Istanbul
was the first step into a new phase of the Ottoman cultural life. The
characteristics of the period in the field of paintings and miniatures may be
summed up as the meeting of the eastern and western painting schools, as the
widespread interaction and communication and as the widespread availability of
display While the Italian painters
called by Mehmet the Conqueror continued their
activities, Turkish artists on the other hand, carried on the domestic
traditions. We can see this dual influence in the works of Sinan
Bey from Bursa, who was the pupil of Hüsamzade Sunullah and Master
Paoli. Meanwhile, upon closure of the Heart academy for painting in the
beginning of the 16th century, its famous instructor Behzat was met with a deserved esteem in Tabriz
in 1512. His pupils began to produce works in his style. Their works reached
the gates of Istanbul.
Sultan Selim Iran and Aleppo to Istanbul after the
seizure of Tabriz
and he ordered his men to create favourable
conditions for those artists' work. Soon after Shah Kulu
from Tabriz
was leading these artists in an academy which was called by the Turks "Nakkashanei-i Irani" (The
Persian Academy of Painting). "Nakkashane-i
Rum" (The Ottoman Academy of Painting) was established upon the reaction
of the Ottoman painters. It goes without question that the period beginning
with Mehmet the Conqueror and ending with Sultan Selim I, was one of the most interesting and important
phases in Turkish painting and miniatures. Various styles and ways of
expression were searched, the influences were are guide and syntheses were
attained. Now we shall take a look at the Turkish Academy during Süleyman the Magnificent reign. Turkish miniature lived its
golden age during that period, with its own characteristics and authentic
qualities. The most renowned artists of the period were Kinci
Mahmut, Kara Memi from Galata, Naksi (his real name Ahmet) from Ahirkapi, Mustafa Dede (called the Shah of Painters), Ibrahim
Çelebi, Hasan Kefeli, Matrakçi Nasuh, Nigari (who portrayed
Sultan Selim II and whose real name was Haydar. He was a sailor).
Miniature was again on full force
during Murat III's reign.
The famous miniature painters of the age were master Osman,
Ali Çelebi, Molla Kasim, Hasan Pasa
and Lütfü Abdullah. We should also mention the
Persian, Albanian Bogdanian and Hungarian artists who
largely contributed to the art of miniature in the cosmopolitan Ottoman
society. According to the registers of the 16th century, the number
of miniaturists in Süleyman the Magnificent's
court only were 29 instructor-masters and 12 apprentice-pupils. These numbers
increased highly towards the end of the century. Few of the miniatures are
dated. The miniaturist signed his work only if he alone has painted the
portrait or the scene. The works were usually anonymous. The head painter used
to draw the main composition with thin brushes and then his assistants and
pupils painted in part by part. It is difficult to distinguish individual
styles. The head painter, the author and writer of the story were also depicted
in some of the miniatures. The most refined lines forming the basis of the
picture were the lines bordering spaces, the lines on coloured
surfaces and the lines of facial expression. The design approach was usually
symmetrical.
The terms of the age were: "Nakis-miniature; nakkaspainter,
miniaturist; tasvir-depiction; müsavvir-depicter;
nakkashane/nigarhane-workshop; kalemi
siyah-pencil; sebil yazmak-to portray; tahr-composition;
tarrah-designer of the composition; endam-symmetry, balance; nakkasan
group of miniaturists. The beauty of the Turkish miniatures spring from the
contours and the sense of colour. The paper
straightened by a heavy press was covered by red lead. The finish consisted of
egg-white, starch, lead carbonate, gum tragacanth,
salt of ammonia. The finished paper had a luminous appearance and it was creamy
in colour. After the text and tables were completed,
the paper was handed to the miniaturists to be painted. The miniatures were
divided as 1)Illustration of books, compositions (depiction of certain subjects
and events) and 2)portraits. The subjects of the miniatures were as follows: Shahname and Shehinshahname-The
public and private lives of rulers, their portraits and historical events; Shemaili Ali Osman-portraits of
rulers; Surname-pictures depicting weddings and especially circumcision
festivities; religious subjects (Siyer-i
Nebi); Shecaatname-wars
commanded by pashas; Iskendername-in ancient Moslem
belief Alexander the Great is considered a prophet; Humayunname-epics,
heroic deeds and animal fables; literary works and folk stories such as Leyla and Mecnun; anthologies;
the world of botanies and animals, scientific books on alchemy, cosmography and
medicine; technical books; love letters; horoscopes translations. The
miniatures in the translations were sometimes directly copied from the original
and sometimes they were authentically made. In such cases, ones should know the
different styles of the other Moslem miniatures such as Iran and India. Kaaba depictions, sports and especially horse-riding scenes
took place in the Turkish miniatures.
The
clear and simple expression attained a magnificent style by plain drawing and colours. There was neither lyricism nor idealism, but only
realism based on close observation. There were humorous expressions of daily
life. This expressionist style revealed itself in a very few lines in the
moving bodies. Refined details were rare. The purpose was to reflect and attain
the best within simplicity. The combat order were shown on war miniatures. It
is understood that the miniaturists joined those campaigns. The artists did not
consider perspective and the third dimension. They portrayed people in straight
profiles or from the front instead of the three fourth profile seen in Persian
miniatures. The relation between nature, objects and figures was not taken into
consideration. The relation between nature, objects and figures was not taken
into consideration. The important point was the main theme. The secondary
themes and scenes were complementary to the composition. The borrowed look of
the figures indicate that they were the ordinary individuals of protocol in
every period. Pride, faithfulness and anxiety signified the order of the state
with a humorous approach. The composition and the contours were worked
attentively. The order of places was very important. Realistic scenery and
topographic views were rare. Artists like Matrakçi Nasuh who depicted the Iraqian
campaign of Süleyman the Magnificent with details of
the resting places and the Mediterranean ports, were very few. The colours were
obtained by powdered dyes mixed with egg-white. The colours
were strikingly brilliant. Contrasting colours were
used side by side with warm colours with an
avant-garde approach in colour selection. In nature
depictions spots of colour were used. The colour nuances of the same shade were masterly applied. The
most used colours were bright red, scarlet, green and
different shades of blue. The domes were painted pale blue. The way black,
white, yellow and gild were used liberally had a special quality. Gild was used
in architectural details, in the background and the ground of calligraphic
works. The sky and clouds were never depicted in their natural colours.
Turkish art of miniature, as all
the other handcrafts, followed the historical line of the state and had its
golden age during the 16th century.
