Japan to host Ottoman miniaturist

An exhibition of the work of renowned Ottoman miniaturist Matrakci Nasuh is set to open in Tokyo next week.
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 will run from Sept. 1-8 at the Shibuya Culture Center Owada.
The exhibition 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.