Turkish Art

The first main contributions that the Turkish made to the arts coincided with the zenith of Ottoman power between the 16th-18th centuries. Aside from the splendid and unique Ottoman architecture that can still be seen in mosques and buildings across Turkey today, the Ottoman Turks were active in many disciplines within the arts. Through the centuries, Turkish artist and artisans have developed styles of art that are uniquely Turkish. Forbidden by Islam to portray human and animal forms in art, early Turkish artists turned their creative talents to architecture, music, weaving, wood and metal working, ceramics, glassblowing, jewellery, manuscript illumination and calligraphy. Another form of Turkish expression of arts came through horticulture and landscape gardening. Ottoman Turkish literary arts comprised of poetry that is influenced by Persian and Arabic with subject matters of mystical love and the quest for divine union being a prevalent theme throughout this form of Turkish art. Towards the end of the 19th century arts in Turkey began to be influenced more heavily by European art and for the first time Turkish artists started painting still life portraits which had previously not been pursued as a form of art because of religious injunctions discouraging such art. Turkish arts today can still be found in the villages of Turkey where traditional Turkish embroidery and the making of lace has been going on for hundreds of years and is still taking place. These examples of Turkish arts are usually found on sale in the bazaars of most Major Turkish cities. Perhaps the most commonly sold piece of Turkish Art that tourists bring back with them is the small turquoise coloured charm that is supposed to ward off the evil eye, made of clay or glass.

 

 

Performing Art

Dance

Turkey has a very ancient folk dance tradition which varies from region to region, each dance being colourful, rhythmic and elegant. Folklore has also had a considerable influence on ballet. First imported from Europe and Russia, ballet became institutionalized in the Republican era along with other performing arts. The Turkish State Ballet owes its momentum and development to the great British choreographer Dame Ninette de Valois. The State Ballet in both Ankara and Istanbul has, for decades, performed many world classics. “Belly dance” which is called “göbek dansı” in Turkey is maybe the most famous and popular one of Turkish dances. There are many different cultures which have influenced the development of this style. Among the other most popular are "Çayda Çira" from the Sivas region in Central Anatolia, "Silifke yogurdu" from the Mersin region, "Seyh Samil" from the Kars region, "Kilic Kalkan" from Bursa and "Zeybek" from Izmir.

 

Music

Turkish music includes elements elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and music from the Ottoman Empire, like Persian, Balkan and Byzantine. Great names in Turkish classical music include Dede Efendi, Haci Arif Bey and Tamburi Cemal Bey. It is a form that continues to be professionally performed and one that attracts large audiences. Turkish popular music is a variation of the national musical tradition, played with instruments such as the tambur, kanun, ney and ud. Folk music has developed gradually over the centuries in the rural areas of Turkey. It is highly diversified with many different rhythms and themes. Musical archives contain almost 10,000 such folk songs. Turkish religious music, mostly in the form of songs, is centuries old and rich in tradition, embodied at its most perfect by Mevlevi music. Turkish pop music had its humble beginnings in the late 1950s with Turkish cover versions of a wide range of imported popular styles, including rock and roll, tango and jazz. As more styles emerged, they were also adopted, such as hip hop, heavy metal and reggae. Music is an important part of education in Turkey. High schools generally offer classes in singing, mostly choral, and instrumentation in the form of a large school band or social clubs and communities for Turkish classical or folk music, known as cemiyets.

 

Theatre and Cinema

Turkish theatre is thought to have originated from the popular Karagöz shadow plays, a cross between moralistic Punch and Judy and the slapstick Laurel and Hardy. It then developed along an oral tradition, with plays performed in public places, such as coffee houses and gardens, exclusively by male actors. Atatürk gave great importance to the arts, and actively encouraged theatre, music and ballet, prompting the foundation of many state institutions. Turkey today boasts a thriving arts scene, with highly professional theatre, opera and ballet companies, as well as a flourishing film industry. The country enjoys numerous arts festivals throughout the year, the most prestigious of which is the Istanbul Film Festival.

 

Still Art

 Calligraphy

Of the Ottoman arts, Calligraphy was the most important. When we speak of Turkish calligraphy, we refer to writing of aesthetic value in characters based on the Arabic script, which the Turks had adopted as their writing medium after their conversion to Islam. Calligraphy is the art of fine handwriting. The term may refer to letters, words, pages, or even whole documents to which aesthetic principles and skilled penmanship have been applied. In Islamic culture, calligraphic writing is accomplished by using a broad-edged reed, quill, or nib pen held at a slant. The most succinct definition of calligraphy formulated by Islamic writers is, "Calligraphy is a spiritual geometry produced with material tools." The art of Calligraphy has reached today's standards after undergoing various transformations throughout centuries, bringing invaluable works into existence.

 

Embroidery

Embroidery is a form of art that reflects the Turkish society’s cultural richness, strength and talents totally. Embroidery has arisen from the taste of ornamenting daily objects or clothing. Turkish embroidery has a 2000 year history and the oldest sample belongs to the Seljuk period. Embroideries are done by applications of threads like silk, wool, linen, cotton, metal etc. with various needles and application techniques on to materials like felt, leather, and woven fabric.The art of embroidery has traditionally occupied an important place in Turkish life. Needlework found a particularly wide range of applications, among the Ottoman Turks. The most striking examples of Turkish embroidery, however, are those that were used in the furnishings of the palaces-divan and cushion covers, floor coverings known as nihale, wall and door curtains, and covers for the throne. Embroidery, however, was not an art limited to the palace, it was produced and used at every level of society, from the most exalted to the humblest. The influence of the West continued to increase steadily throughout the nineteenth century, giving rise to new preferences in design. Embroidery was influenced by a new style called Turkish rococo, in which garlands of flowers, large acanthus leaves, bouquets springing from baskets and vases, jasmine, violets, and roses became the dominant theme. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the founding of the Teacher's Training School for Girls in Istanbul and the subsequent opening of similar girls' schools in other major cities, introduced embroidery into the curriculum and taught it in a systematic way.

 

Turkish Painting and Miniature Work

Turkish painting in the western sense only began in the 19th century, with the founding by Osman Hamdi Bey, himself an accomplished painter, of the Academy of Fine Arts. Turkish painters were sent to France and Italy by the Sultan, and foreign painters, mostly Italian, were brought from Europe to transfer their skills. Today this academy is known as Mimar Sinan University. The most famous of the early Ottoman painters are Osman Hamdi Bey, Seker Ahmet Pasha, Hoca Ali Riza, Sevket Dag , Ahmet Ziya and Halil Pasha. In 1919 the Ottoman Society of Painters held their first exhibition in Galatasaray. Ottoman Art consisted mainly of the traditional forms outlined above, with the exception of Turkish Miniatures. Miniature painters were divided into two categories, those who painted decorative murals and flowers, and the smaller number, many of whom were non-Muslims, who painted portraits, sieges and battle-scenes. Turkish miniatures are not as famous as Persian ones, although they are often more moving and powerful, due to the stronger shades used and to a greater attention to detail. In Turkey, the art of miniature painting used to be called 'nakýþ' or 'tasvir,' with the former being more commonly employed. The artist was known as a 'nakkaþ' or 'musavvir.' Miniature work was generally applied to paper, ivory and similar materials.

 

Cini or Enamelled Tile Making

This process involves richly decorating cearmic, tile or porcelain pieces then covering the design in a thick glaze. This style, produced most often in Iznik and Kütahya, had it's peak between the 14th and 17th centuries. Three regions in Turkey are prized for their ceramic production are Iznik, Kütahya, Çanakkale.

 

 

Ebru or Water Marbling

Marbling is the art of creating colourful patterns by sprinkling and brushing colour pigments on a pan of oily water and then transforming this pattern to paper. The special tools of the trade are brushes of horsehair bound to straight rose twigs, a deep tray made of unknotted pinewood, natural earth pigments, cattle gall and tragacanth. It is believed to be invented in the thirteenth century Turkistan. This decorative art then spread to China, India and Persia and Anatolia. Seljuk and Ottoman calligraphers and artists used marbling to decorate books, imperial decrees, official correspondence and documents. New forms and techniques were perfected in the process and Turkey remained the center of marbling for many centuries. Up until the 1920's, marblers had workshops in the Beyazit district of Istanbul, creating for both the local and European market, where it is known as Turkish marble paper.

 

Ceramics

Pottery, the first common preoccupation of societies, is the most important invention of the Neolithic Era. This handicraft has become a cultural treasure by developing in Anatolia throughout history. Throughout the time from the first ages, with its enhancing motifs and raw material being clay, a mixture of metal, non-metal and oxide, it has turned into a work of art that reflects societies' sensitivity, cultural accumulation, religious beliefs, relationships and lives within society. The art of ceramics which developed in Anatolia reached its highest level of technique and aesthetic especially during the Seljuk and Ottoman periods. Other branches of ceramics could be grouped as the art of tile making, brick and roof tile production.

 

Carpets and Kilims

“The Art of Carpeting” that started with the Pazirik carpets has always been lead by Turks throughout history. Carpets that are the fundamental traditional form of Turkish art have a special place in their art history. Turkish carpets, that have existed until today with their everlasting textile motives and techniques of knots, have a unique characteristic that has enabled them to develop regularly and constantly. While Kilim weaving is a type of weaving called 'weft-facing' i,e done by drawing the weft yarn under and over warp yarns tightly so that they hide the warp yarns. On the other hand, carpet weaving is a type done by lining threads like cotton, animal hair, silk and wool to form the warp frame and by tying knots to every double warp yarn with wool, silk, floss threads with different techniques and by tightening the weft yarns on top.

 

Woodwork Products

Having improved in the Anatolian Seljuk period, wood carving has its own unique characteristics and was first meant to cater for needs rather than aesthetics or taste. Wood carving was used in architecture during the Seljuk and Beylic periods and later on during the Ottoman period it was used in both architecture and for daily objects. The trees that are used for woodwork are walnut, apple, pear, cedar, ebony and rosewood and as for ornamenting techniques like inlay, painting, kundenkari, embossed carvings and lattice are used.

 

Leather, Bone and Horn Products

It is possible to classify handicrafts that are made of leather, fur, horns and bones according to the materials used and their purpose of usage. Other types of handicrafts that can be added to this category would be; making of yemeni (hand-made authentic leather shoes) and çarýk (rawhide sandals), bookbinding, shadow-show puppets, utensils and wool handicraft.