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Islamic Calligraphers 9th to 20th century
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The major Islamic Calligraphers of the Arabic Scripts. Note that this list is not complete, if you find any incorrect information or like to contribute please send us an e-mail, thank you.
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Mehmed Nazif Bey |
1846 - 1914 |
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A native of Ruscuk, and was born in 1262 H. He entered the Saray school at an early age, and there he learned the art of calligraphy from Vahdeti Effendi of Burdur, a pupil of Abdullah Zühdü. He later studied Ta'Iiq under Sami Effendi, from whom he received his icazet.
After leaving the Saray school he spent many years as calligrapher in the Cartography Department of the Erkan-i Harbiye-i Umumiye (Army General Staff). He had a very fine command of Thuluth, Jeli and Naskhi, and displayed great skill in the use of Ta'Iiq. Nazif Bey died in 1331 H. and was buried in the graveyard belonging to the Yahya Effendi Dergah (dervish convent) in Besiktas. |
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Hassan Riza |
1849 - 1920 |
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Born in Usküdar in 1265 H. He earned the art of calligraphy from Yahya Hilmi, one of the secretaries in the Ministry of War, and later from Mehmed Sefik Bey, from whom he received his icazet. He was one of the most
prolific of Turkish calligraphers. He produced nineteen copies of the Quran as well as a large number of Hilyes, Kit'as and Murak'kas.
He held the post of Imperial main and teacher of calligraphy. He also worked as a teacher of Thuluth and Naskhi in the Madrasa Hattatin. He died in 1338 H. and was buried in the cemetery at Rumeli Hisar. His Naskhi script was particularly beautiful. |
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Kamil Akdik |
1862–1941 |
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Born in Istanbul in 1278 H. He learned Thuluth and Naskhi from the great calligrapher Sami Effendi, from whom he also received his icazet. He later learned from the same teacher the art of the tughra and Divani script. He held the post of teacher of writing in the Divan-i Hümayun Kalemi (Secretariat of the Imperial Chancery).
In 1914 he was appointed teacher of Thuluth and Naskhi in the Madrasa Hattatin, in 1918 teacher of writing in Galatasaray Lycee and in 1936 teacher of calligraphy in the Academy of Fine Arts. He was twice invited to Egypt, where he left a considerable number of very fine works. He died in 1360 H. |
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Mehmed Hulusi Effendi
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1869 - 1940 |
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Born in Istanbul in 1286 H. He learned Ta'liq from Haci Arif Bey of Carsamba and Sami Effendi, and Thuluth and Naskhi from Muhsinzade Abdullah Bey. He was teacher of writing in Darüssafaka Lycee and the Madrasa Hattatin.
Hulusi Effendi was one of the greatest Turkish masters of Ta'Iiq and Ta'liq Jeli. He spent his whole life, however, in financial distress and poverty. He died in 1358 H. The recent calligraphers Halim Ozyazici and Kemal Batanay were two of his most distinguished pupils.
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Necmeddin Okyay
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1883-1976 |
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Attended the Ravzai Terakki school, where he received lessons in calligraphy from Mehmed Sevki and from Hassan Tal’at Bey. In 1905 he received permission to write in the ta’liq style from Sami (1838–1912) and in 1906 received permission for the Thuluth and Naskh styles from Bakkal Arif. Later, at the School of Calligraphers, he learnt to draw tughras and practiced Jali-Thuluth (Turk. celi-sülüs) with Ismail Hakki Altinbezer (1870–1946). He also learnt from Shaykh Ethem the art of marbled paper, at which he became very skilful. His use of the surname Okyay came from his proficiency at archery.
He succeeded his father as preacher and Imam at the Yeni cami mosque at Üsküdar in Istanbul, where he remained for 40 years. He taught at the School of Calligraphers, the Oriental Decorative Arts School and finally at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul, where he practiced the ta’liq style with his pupils. |
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ISLAMIC ART |
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Islamic Art |
Calligraphy
Part 1 |
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Calligraphy
Part 2 |
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Islamic Calligraphers Part 1 |
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Islamic Calligraphers Part 2 |
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Islamic Calligraphers Part 3 |
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Islamic Calligraphers Part 4 |
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Carpets |
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Geometry & Floral Patterns |
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Glassware |
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Metal Work |
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Pottery |
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Textiles |
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Wood
Work |
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Glossary |
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Icazet: The diploma awarded by the teacher to a student of calligraphy. This was awarded after the examination of a piece of calligraphy written by the student in the presence of several teachers of the art. A student could not sign his work until he had received his icazet. |
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Al-Anaam: A small book containing the Sura of Al-Anaam #6 of the Quran, together with several prayers. |
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Hilye: A name given to a calligraphic composition set within a definite frame and describing the features and qualities of the Prophet in accordance with the tradition handed down. |
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Istif: A complex calligraphic composition in which the letters composing the words are arranged one on top of the other. |
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Karalama: Homework (work performed by student outside school). |
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Kazasker: The head of the kadis (governors of various districts) in the Ottoman State. The kazasker participated in the councils of the viziers held under the chairmanship of the Sadrazam (Grand Vizier). |
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Murak'ka: This name is given to a type of cardboard formed by sticking firm, rather thick sheets of paper one on top of the other. Kit'as or other pieces of writing are stuck on to these and the margins decorated. The term Murak'ka is applied to a calligraphic album made up of a number of kit'as produced in the manner described above and connected to one another by joining the edges. |
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Ta'liq: A type of script invented in Iran and which always remained very closely associated with that country. It began to be used in Turkey in the second half of the eleventh century of the Hegira (sixteenth century AD.) following the arrival in Istanbul of Dervish Abdi of Bukhara, one of the pupils of mad-i Hasani, the great Iranian master of Ta'Iiq. Dervish Abdi introduced a smaller and finer version of Ta'liq known as Nesta'liq, and his influence led to a great increase in the number of calligraphers who developed an interest in Ta'Iiq and, consequently, in the number of works produced in this script. |
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In addition to writing, he explored many crafts and skills related to calligraphy. From Baha he learnt the art of Turkish classical bookbinding and made fine sunburst bindings, and in turn trained Emin Barin (b 1913) and Islam Seçen in this art.
He also learnt how to polish paper, developed formulae for preparing different varieties of ink and was skilled at identifying unsigned works of calligraphy. Among his pupils was the calligrapher Ali Alparslan (b 1925) |
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Deli Omer
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19th century |
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Aziz |
19th century |
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Neyzen Emin Yazici
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19th century |
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Tugrakes Ismail Hakki
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19th century |
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Mustafa Halim Ozyazici
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19th century |
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Mahmud Yazir
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19th century |
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Hamid Aytac
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20th century |
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A Turkish calligrapher
Originally known as "Musa Azmi", he was the grandson of Seyyid Adem, a famous calligrapher of Diyarbakir. He practiced writing in Diyarbakir with his school teacher Mustafa Akif Tütenk and others, and in 1908 went to Istanbul to continue his education, first at the School of Law and then at the Fine Arts Academy.
However, he was soon forced to give up his studies to earn a living and in 1910 he became a writing teacher at the Gülsen school in Istanbul, where he taught the calligrapher Halim Özyazici. He went on to direct the Rusumat press and then worked at the press of the Military Academy in Istanbul. During World War I he worked for one year in Germany, where he prepared military maps. After the war he resigned his job and began to work independently.
He changed his name to Hamid Aytaç, and in the early years of the Turkish republic made labels and calling cards. As a calligrapher he practiced the Jali-Thuluth (Turk. celi-sülüs) style with Mehmed Nazif Bey (1846–1914), the Naskh and Thuluth styles with Kamil Akdik (1862–1941) and the Ta'liq style with Mehmed Hulusi (1869–1940). He worked on a number of magnificent manuscripts, including Qurans. He also worked at the Sisli Mosque in Istanbul and on other buildings in Istanbul and Ankara. |
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Ali
Alparslan
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20th century |
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Ali Alparslan and his students are instrumental in keeping the ta’liq script alive. There are also many artists in Anatolia who are calligraphers. |
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Hassan Celebi
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20th century |
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Born, born 1937 in Erzurum, Turkey is a world-renowned Turkish master of Arabic calligraphy and has devoted his whole life to calligraphy. He is an internationally recognized artist with his mosque inscriptions, special writings and exhibitions. Çelebi’s calligraphies are decorating mosques in many countries. In Turkey, the restored inscriptions of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and the inscriptions of the Masjid within the parliament building in Ankara are some of his works.
Today, Celebi has ten corresponding students from all around the world. Students from Morocco, Tunisia, the United States, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are sending their work for correction to him. Even a prince of Jordan is among them.
Women are more than men interested in calligraphy in Turkey. Celebi has 25 female students, but he says, "Calligraphy is a man’s job. Because, it requires long and hard training." Since women will have duties as mother at home after marriage, they do not have the time and the calm hand needed for this very fine art. In calligraphy, the very first lesson takes six months and the "icazet" six to eight years.
30 calligraphers were awarded "icazet" from Celebi, among them 10 are international, ranging from the United States to Japan. His student Mohammed Zakariya, a famous American master calligrapher lectures in the USA and in the Middle East. |
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Husseyin Oksuz
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20th century |
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Savas Cevik
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20th century |
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Huseyin Gunduz
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20th century |
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Mehmed Ozcay
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20th century |
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Born in 1961 in Trabzon, Turkey, Ozcay developed an interest in the art of calligraphy at a very young age. In 1982, he started his formal training with Fouad Bashar. He soon held exhibitions in Istanbul organized by Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA). He was invited by the Prince of Wales's Institute to exhibit his works in London.
Mehmed & Osman Ozcay, the "Ozcay-brothers" are well-known in Turkey as the masters of calligraphy and their sister Fatima has earned recognition in illumination which enhances and complements calligraphy. Mehmed is much into classical calligraphy and specializes in Naskh, Thuluth and Diwani script. His works is distinguished by the extreme cleanliness of the sheet and the choice of ink that he uses. Ozcay's message to budding calligraphers is quite research, and examine closely the works of the master calligrapher. |
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Mohammed Zakariya |
20th century |
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An Islamic calligrapher, artist and maker of custom instruments from the history of science. Born in California, he began the study of Islamic calligraphy in Tangier and London in 1964. In 1984, he was invited by the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture in Istanbul to study with the celebrated Turkish calligraphers Hassan Celebi and Ali Alparslan.
Zakariya holds prized diplomas in sûlûs-nesih and Ta'liq scripts. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout the world and he has presented numerous workshops and lectures on Islamic calligraphy, and his calligraphic works have been exhibited widely. In USA his work has been shown at the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery and S. Dillon Ripley Center and at the Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.. He has also shown his calligraphy and given demonstrations in conjunction with Islamic art exhibits at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Walters Gallery in Baltimore." In September 2005 he presented a free public lecture and a calligraphy lesson at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. |
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Islamic Calligraphers Part 1 < 2 < 3 < 4 |
 The
Splendor of Islamic Calligraphy Any type font designer can tell you
that the shape and form of a letter create a mood — just
compare Times Roman with Helvetica or imagine a wedding
invitation written in a script used for auto ads. But no
matter how footloose on a fancy street the designer may
become with decorativeness, type design is still at bottom
a utilitarian thing. When the language is sacred, as the
Arabic used in the Quran is for Muslims, loftier
conventions apply. Islamic calligraphy is not based on
aesthetics or logic — although many of its scripts
certainly have that — but on what Muslims call tawqif,
language established by God. The word of God is the things
of God — if the word of God is heard in a tree, then the
tree is an act of God. The human voice is an instrument
for celebrating the creating immanence of God. Instead of
“to articulate is to create” as found in the Graeco-Roman tradition, Islam operates on the principle, “to create is to articulate”, and, of course, the Creator is God. Click here to read the full review |
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