What is calligraphy?
The art of calligraphy, from the Ottoman times until today; It is an art of fine writing formed within the framework of Arabic letters and performed with writing and lines. The person who deals with the art of calligraphy is known as the calligrapher. The masters who perform this art depict beauty, emotions, thoughts by combining them with pencil and paper in their works. And so, unique works of art emerge.
The history of calligraphy
After answering the question of what is the art of calligraphy, let's come to the history of calligraphy, which is our main topic. The emergence of the art of calligraphy corresponds to the 6th century to the 10th century. The art of calligraphy was first mentioned with the Arabic script used by the Arabs, and a few centuries after the migration, it became the common value of the Islamic ummah and gained the character of the Islamic line.
During the Abbasid period, Baghdad vizier and calligrapher Ibn Mukle developed a system that defines the main lines of writing with his efforts and innovations and played an important role in the development of calligraphy. After the Abbasids were erased from the stage of history in 1258, superiority in writing finally passed into the hands of Turkish and Iranian calligraphers. Iranian calligraphers wrote the aklam-ı sitte (the six basic types of calligraphy) in keeping with the style of the Abbasid Caliph Yakut, who contributed greatly to the development of calligraphy; The Ottoman Turks, on the other hand, established a difficult school in calligraphy. Considered as the pioneer of Turkish calligraphy in Anatolia in the 16th century, Sheikh Hamdullah brought a unique beauty and maturity to the art of calligraphy in the Ottoman Empire. The success of the calligraphers, who were brought up after Şey Hamdullah, were in the effort to write like him, and he was remembered with the words "He wrote like Sheikh". This situation continued for more than 150 years.
In the second half of the 17th century, Hafız Osman, who subjected the style of Sheikh Hamdullah to elimination, showed a unique calligraphy style. While Hafız Osman's breakthrough in the art of calligraphy in the Ottoman Empire continued, a century later, İsmail Zühdü and his brother Mustafa Rakım, inspired by his writings, revealed their own styles. Master Sami Efendi, who came after Mustafa Rakım, gave a new direction to his path. These names have given the most beautiful examples of Ottoman calligraphy for centuries; They made great contributions to the development of calligraphy in the Ottoman Empire.
After Istanbul was conquered by the Turks, it became the center of the art of calligraphy. The Islamic world has accepted this fact and revealed it with the following words:
"The Quran was sent down in Hejaz, it was read in Egypt, it was written in Istanbul."
Some of the most well-known calligraphers who have contributed to the art of calligraphy are Sheikh Hamdullah, Ahmed Karahisari, Hafız Osman, Mustafa Rakım, Mahmut Celaleddin Efendi, Yesarizade Mustafa Izzet Efendi.
In this article, under the title of the history of calligraphy; What is the art of calligraphy, the history of calligraphy, the art of calligraphy in the Ottoman Empire, the pioneer of Turkish calligraphy in Anatolia, examples of the art of Ottoman calligraphy.
