MINIATURE ART

MINIATURE ART

   Briefly, miniature art is the name given to very small or finely processed painting arts.  In the Middle Ages, the initials in books were painted with a red paint and lead oxide was used, which gave a very attractive paint color.  This name used to be the minimum.  It changed over time and took the word miniature.  Miniature is known as a style of painting known for a long time.  The art of miniature, which has been known in the east or west or long ago, does not differ in terms of the way it is made, but it differs in its subjects.  The world's oldest miniatures have been found in Egypt.  The miniatures made on papyrus in the 2nd century BC are the oldest miniatures and they are still fanatical today despite time.

   To become a miniature artist, it is necessary to have a certain knowledge.  Along with this knowledge, experience is also very important.  Thanks to the experience gained alongside important miniaturists, basic skills can be learned and worked on over time.  In addition, when you examine enough examples from the internet and magazines and work on them again, it will be inevitable that you are not a master, but an artist who performs miniature art.

   Miniature is the name given to very finely processed, symbolist approach, very small sized paintings and the art in which these pictures were produced.  In our country, miniature art is called "embroidery" and the one who makes it is called "nakkaş".

   Miniature is kept small as it is made for illustrating books.  In addition, the surroundings of the miniatures are decorated with an ornament called illumination.  A paint similar to watercolor was used in miniature.  Thin brushes made from kittens' hairs called "feather pencils" were used to draw lines and to process fine details.

   There is no depth, perspective, light and shadow in miniature.  Bright and vivid colors are among its most important features.

 1- NAKKAŞ NIGARİ (1494 - 1572)

   His real name is Haydar Reis.  Making miniatures of famous people has a great role in being very successful in portrait miniature.  He is very successful in likening the faces of the people he draws to their originals.  II.  He made miniatures of Selim, Yavuz Sultan Selim, Suleiman the Magnificent, Barbaros Hayrettin Pasha.  In this miniature, II.  He drew Selim (Yellow).  He drew Selim with a bow in his left hand and an arrow in his right hand, the gunman behind him with a carnation in his right hand and a few arrows in his left hand.  The left arm of the caftan is out and the right arm is worn, it must be to lighten the weight while shooting an arrow.

 2-NAKKAŞ SİNAN BEY

  He is one of the miniature artists who lived in the 15th century.  It was sent to Italy by Fatih Sultan Mehmet.  Naturally, he was influenced by Italian and Renaissance painting.  In this miniature, he depicted Fatih Sultan Mehmet.  It depicted the Conqueror sniffing roses.  The rose symbolizes the Prophet Muhammad and therefore Islam.  He depicted the Conqueror in a magnificent way.  The resemblance of Bellini with the portrait of the Conqueror is striking.

 3-NAKKAŞ OSMAN BEY

   It is the Basnakkai of the Ottoman Palace after the 16th century.  He is the Prime Minister in Orhan Pamuk's novel My Name Is Red.  Of course, some of the events in the novel are fictional.  It draws attention to the smallest details in Ottoman miniatures.  It focuses on historical facts rather than imaginary scenes.  This miniature tells about the architects guild.  In the Ottoman Empire, architects worked on models, not on painting.  He tried to reflect the emotions of architects working on a mosque model with hand and arm movements.

 4-SEYYİD LOKMAN

 Seyyid Lokman served the palace for 26-27 years.  The most important of his works are:

 Surname-i Humayun: III.  It tells about the circumcision of Prince Mehmet, son of Murat.

 Hünername: Describes the events of the legal period.  He worked with Nakkaş Osman.

 Şehinşahname: III.  Tells the events of the Murat period.

 According to the archives, it has a team of about 126 people.  He also worked with Nakkaş Osman.

 In this miniature, the body of Prince Mustafa is displayed in a tent in front of the tent.  At the foot of the prince, the imrahoru and the corpses of the alemdar are seen.  Kanuni is sitting in his seat.  The executioners are also standing against.

 5-LEVNI (1680 - 1732) 

  II.  Mustafa and III.  He worked as a prime minister during the Ahmet period.  His real name is Abdülcelil Çelebi.  Levni's nickname comes from the Persian word "levn" which means color and paint and means dealing with colors.  The importance he attaches to perspective in his paintings and to reflecting the personality traits of the people he depicts, the harmony of color and composition in the painting is an important innovation for Ottoman miniature.  In his miniature, he turned the subjects into the realm of life and pleasure.

 In this miniature, he drew the 17th century Ottoman ideal of women.  It's so real you can see the woman's dress move gracefully.

 6-MATRAKÇI NASUH (1480 - 1564)

   His real name is Nasuh Bin Karagöz El-Bosnavi.  Maybe his discovery of the funny game played with sticks resembling clubs, his nickname, maybe because he played well.  II.  He was educated in Enderun in the last period of Bayezid.  He gave works in the period of Yavuz Sultan Selim and Kanuni Sultan Süleyman.  His drawings are defined as masterpieces today, because they contain both aesthetic and detailed information about the past.

   This miniature is a miniature taken from Nüzhetü Esrâri'l- Ahbar Der-sef-i Sigetvar, which is the last work of Matrakçı Nasuh.  King of Hungary John Sigismund is seen in the otağ-ı hümayun of Suleiman the Magnificent.  Matrakçı Nasuh created the topographic depiction.  No human figures are encountered in Nasuh's topographical depictions, but the place, vegetation, animals living here, buildings and squares are shown in detail and take part in their integrity.