Japan to host Ottoman miniaturist exhibition

By Hatice Kesgin

ANKARA (AA) - An exhibition of the work of renowned Ottoman miniaturist Matrakci Nasuh opens in Tokyo next week, the Turkish president’s office said Thursday.

Nasuh (1480-1564) was an accomplished miniaturist -- an art form of the Ottoman period that portrayed events realistically while adhering to the traditional rules of Islamic art -- who developed a naturalistic style focusing on panoramas.

His most famous works are a cityscape of Istanbul and volumes representing Sultan Suleiman I’s 1535-36 campaign in Iraq and Iran.

However, he was also a talented mathematician, historian, linguist and soldier.

The show, titled 16th Century Genius Matrakci Nasuh, is supported by the presidency and designed by the Istanbul Intercultural Art Dialogues Association. It runs from Sept. 1-8 at the Shibuya Culture Center Owada.

Anadolu Agency is the global communications partner for the exhibition, which was previously shown in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Antalya, Istanbul and Vienna.

“While conveying the virtues of Nasuh, one of the hidden geniuses of our history, in different disciplines of art, the viewer will be able to… explore the 16th century of the Ottoman Empire in the artistic, chronological and political sense,” the presidency said in a statement.