Ottoman illumination - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Turkish or Ottoman illumination covers non-figurative painted or drawn decorative art in books or on sheets in muraqqa
Muraqqa
A Muraqqa is an album in book form containing Islamic miniature paintings and specimens of Islamic calligraphy, normally from several different sources, and perhaps other matter...

or albums, as opposed to the figurative images of the Ottoman miniature

Ottoman miniature

Ottoman Miniature or Turkish miniature was an art form in the Ottoman Empire, which can be linked to the Persian miniature tradition, as well as strong Chinese artistic influences. It was a part of the Ottoman Book Arts together with illumination , calligraphy , marbling paper and bookbinding...

. In Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...

it is called “tezhip”, an Arabic word which means “ornamenting with gold”. It was a part of the Ottoman Book Arts together with the Ottoman miniature (taswir), calligraphy (hat), Islamic calligraphy

Islamic calligraphy

Islamic calligraphy, colloquially known as Perso-Arabic calligraphy, is the artistic practice of handwriting, or calligraphy, and by extension, of bookmaking, in the lands sharing a common Islamic cultural heritage. This art form is based on the Arabic script, which for a long time was used by all...

, bookbinding (cilt) and paper marbling

Paper marbling

Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other stone. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to an absorbent surface, such as paper or...

(ebru). In the Ottoman empire, illuminated and illustrated manuscripts

Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

were commissioned by the Sultan or the administrators of the court. In Topkapi Palace

Topkapi Palace

The Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....

, these manuscripts were created by the artists working in Nakkashane, the atelier of the miniature and illumination artists. Both religious and non-religious books could be illuminated. Also sheets for albums levha consisted of illuminated calligraphy (hat) of tughra
Tughra
A tughra is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of an Ottoman sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign...

, religious texts, verses from poems or proverbs, and purely decorative drawings.

The illuminations were made either surrounding the text as a frame or within the text in triangle or rectangle forms. There could be a few carpet page

Carpet page

Carpet pages are a characteristic feature of Insular illuminated manuscripts. They are pages of mainly geometrical ornamentation, which may include repeated animal forms, typically placed at the beginning of each of the four Gospels in Gospel Books...

s in the book with ornamental compositions covering the whole page without any accompanying text. The motifs consisted of Rumi, Saz Yolu, Penc, Hatai, roses, Leaf Motifs, Palm Leaves, naturalistic flowers, Munhani (gradient colored curve motifs), Dragons, Simurg (Phoenix) Çintamani (Tama motif in Japanese and Chinese book arts).

In 15th century, Ahmed b. Hacı Mahmut el-Aksarayi was a famous illumination artist who created a unique style in the book Divan-ı Ahmedi in 1437, with multi-colored floral patterns.

In the beginning of 16th century, Hasan b. Abdullah's works was original for their color harmony. In the second half of the century, Bayram b. Dervish, Nakkaş Kara Mehmed Çelebi (Karamemi) illuminated books about literature and history. Karamemi brought up an innovation to the tradition with his naturalistic floral ornamentations.

17th century illumination art was different from the previous examples due to more use of colors. Hâfiz Osman

Hâfiz Osman

This article is about a 17th century calligrapher. For the Singaporean footballer, see Hafiz Osman.Hâfiz Osman was an Ottoman calligrapher.Hâfiz Osman was a Dervish; he was born in Istanbul...

(1642–1698), invented the calligraphic format of the hilye, or text describing the appearance of Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

, which were kept in albums or framed like pictures for hanging on walls. The economic and social crisis effected cultural life and fewer manuscripts were produced in this period compared to the past.

In the 18th century, new ornamental motifs were introduced. The floral designs were three dimensional and naturalistic and carried the influences of Western art. Ali el-Üsküdari reused the Saz Style which was introduced by painter Shahkulu in the 17th century. Baroque and Rococo styles were used that reflected the influence of cultural Westernization. After the mid-18th century social and economic changes lead to changes in Ottoman cultural life. When the printing press finally became widely used in the 19th century, the demand for illuminated manuscripts were reduced and the artists mostly produced plates for printing.

19th century was a period a vast variety of styles. The European baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

and rococo

Rococo

Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...

styles were known and adopted by Ottoman illumination artists. Ahmed Efendi, Ali Ragip, Rashid, Ahmed Ataullah were the famous artists of the period. The introduction of printing press, paintings on toil and photography did not have as much negative inflences as it did in the case of Ottoman miniature painting. This was because both people and the ruling elites in Ottoman Empire were eager to continue the tradition of illuminating religious texts that came not only as books (like illuminated Qurans) but also as plates to adorn and sanctify their houses and work places.
In 20th century, after the end of Ottoman Empire, the intelligentsia of the newly born Turkish Republic was under the influence of Western art and aesthetics. The Ottoman Book Arts were unfortunately estimated as not as arts but as outdated things of the past. After the Alphabet Reform in 1925 that abolished Ottoman-Arabic characters and adopted Latin alphabet to be used by the citizens of the Republic, Ottoman Calligraphy was doomed to be incomprehensible by the next generation. As Ottoman-Turkish Illumination Art had shared a common fate with Ottoman Calligraphy from the beginning of their history, both arts went through a period of crisis. But there were conservative intellectuals who valued all the Ottoman Book Arts as important artistic traditions that should be kept alive and transmitted to the next generations. Suheyl Unver, Rikkat Kunt, Muhsin Demironat, Ismail Hakki Altunbezer, and Feyzullah Dayigil were some of the intellectuals that played an important role in continuing the tradition of Ottoman/Turkish Illumination Art. With the foundation of Turkish Decorative Arts section within the Academy of Fine Arts, new generations of illumination artists were educated.
Today there are many artists in the field of illumination. Some of them are Çiçek Derman, Gülnur Duran, Şahin İnalöz, Cahide Keskiner, Ülker Erke, Melek Anter and Münevver Üçer.

Further reading