Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi ( ota, مصطفى عزت,
Modern Turkish
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant smal ...
: ''Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi'') (alternative: Kadiasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi, Seyyid Mustafa) (b. 1801 Tosya – d. 16 November 1876 Istanbul), was an
Ottoman composer,
neyzen, poet and statesman best known for his
calligraphy.
[Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi]
/ref>[Mustafa Kara, Vefatının 130. Yılında Kazasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi, Tasavvuf Dergisi, Sayı 8:, 2007]
/ref>
Life and career
Mustafa Izzet Efendi, the son of Destan Agazade Mustafa Aga, was born in Tosya, near the Black Sea in 1801. His mother was of the Rûmiyya branch of the Kādiriyye order. Following his father's death, his mother sent him to Istanbul to gain an education. He studied Islamic theology, science and music and became an accomplished ''ney'' (reed-flute) player and had a delightful singing voice.
He was initially attached as an apprentice at the mausoleum of Ali-Pasha in the time of Sultan Mahmud II
Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839.
His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...
. Later he served at the Imperial court where he learned '' sülüs'' and '' naskh'' scripts. He was certified by Moustafa Wâsif. He spent three years at the Sultan's court, but found court life too restrictive. He sought the Sultan's permission to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, after which he decided not to return to the Imperial Palace. Instead, he remained in Cairo before finally returning to Istanbul. He purchased a house in the Bath-house district and lived a Sufi way of life, away from the Palace. However, he failed to inform the Sultan of his return and did go back to the Imperial Court.
Some time later, the Sultan discovered, quite by chance, that Izzet was back in Istanbul. During Ramadan, 1832, the Sultan attended prayers at the Beyazid Mosque. When he heard a beautiful singing voice, the Sultan immediately recognised it as belonging to Mustafa Izzet Efendi. Disappointed that Izzet had not announced his return to Istanbul, the Sultan ordered that Izzet be punished, but eventually pardoned him. Izzet went onto occupy judicial and religious posts in the court of Abdulmejid I
Abdulmejid I ( ota, عبد المجيد اول, ʿAbdü'l-Mecîd-i evvel, tr, I. Abdülmecid; 25 April 182325 June 1861) was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on 2 July 1839. His reign was notable for the r ...
.
In 1839, he became a preacher at the Eyüp Sultan Mosque
The Eyüp Sultan Mosque ( tr, Eyüp Sultan Camii) is in the Eyüp district of Istanbul, outside the city walls and near the Golden Horn. On a much older site, the present building dates from the beginning of the 19th century. The mosque complex in ...
, which was regarded as an important duty in the period. In 1845, Sultan Abdülmecid heard Mustafa İzzet's sermon while visiting the mosque and made him the second imam. In 1850, he was appointed as the calligraphy master to the royal princes.
His major contribution to Ottoman calligraphy was to develop refined versions of '' sülüs'' and '' naskh'' scripts, based on the earlier work of Hâfiz Osman, Celaleddin and Râkim. However, his improvements were eclipsed within a generation, by the work of Sevki Efendi (1829–1887) who perfected these styles to a level that has never been surpassed. In addition, to his calligraphy, Mustafa Izzet composed many songs, both religious and non-religious. Izzet was also a collector of manuscripts and collected a large collection. After his passing, his son Ata Bey continued to collect manuscripts. His son Ata Bey worked very hard to get his picture done, however his father opposed.
His most notable calligraphic students were (1818–1890); Şefik Bey (1819–1880); Abdullah Zuhdi Effendi (1835–1879); Muhsinzade Abdullah Bey (1832–1899) and Hasan Riza Effendi (1849–1920).
Work
His calligraphic inscriptions can be found inside many public buildings and mosques, including Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...
, Hırka-i Şerif
Traditionally, Islam has had a rich history of the veneration of relics, especially of those attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Goldziher, I. and Boer, Tj. de, “At̲h̲ar”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition'', Edited by: ...
, Buyuk Kasimpaya; Kucuk Mecidiye; Sinan Pasa, Yahya Effendi and the Washington Monument
The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and th ...
.[M. Uğur Derman, ''Letters in Gold: Ottoman Calligraphy from the Sakıp Sabancı Collection'', N.Y., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998, p. 118 Note: Some of these inscriptions were enlarged from Izzet Effendi's original stencils.]
Calligraphy
File:Hilye-i serif 4.jpg, Ottoman calligraphy panel Hilya
The term ''hilya'' (Arabic , plural: ''ḥilan'', ''ḥulan''; tr, hilye, plural: ) denotes both a visual form in Ottoman art and a religious genre of Ottoman Turkish literature, each dealing with the physical description of Muhammad. Hilya lit ...
the text describes the physical appearance of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
, Date 1848
File:Hilye-i Serif 6.jpg, Ottoman calligraphy panel Hilya
The term ''hilya'' (Arabic , plural: ''ḥilan'', ''ḥulan''; tr, hilye, plural: ) denotes both a visual form in Ottoman art and a religious genre of Ottoman Turkish literature, each dealing with the physical description of Muhammad. Hilya lit ...
the text describes the physical appearance of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
19th century
File:Mustafa Izzet.jpg, Kit'a drawn in Thuluth
''Thuluth'' ( ar, ثُلُث, ' or ar, خَطُّ الثُّلُثِ, '; fa, ثلث, ''Sols''; Turkish: ''Sülüs'', from ' "one-third") is a script variety of Islamic calligraphy. The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new s ...
and Naskh scripts, Istanbul 1288/1871
File:Copied by Kadıasker Mustafa İzzet Efendi - Qur’an - Google Art Project.jpg, A colorful copy of the introduction to the Koran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
in Nastaʿlīq script
''Nastaliq'' (; fa, , ), also romanized as ''Nastaʿlīq'', is one of the main calligraphic hands used to write the Perso-Arabic script in the Persian and Urdu languages, often used also for Ottoman Turkish poetry, rarely for Arabic. ''Nas ...
See also
* Culture of the Ottoman Empire
Ottomans culture evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the various native cultures of conquered lands and their peoples. There was influence from the customs and languages of Islami ...
* Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). ...
* Kazasker
A kazasker or kadıasker ( ota, قاضی عسكر, ''ḳāḍī'asker'', "military judge") was a chief judge in the Ottoman Empire, so named originally because his jurisdiction extended to the cases of soldiers, who were later tried only by their ...
* List of Ottoman calligraphers
* Ottoman art
Turkish art refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical area of what is present day Turkey since the arrival of the Turks in the Middle Ages. Turkey also was the home of much significant art produced by earlier cultures, ...
References
{{Authority control
Ottoman culture
Calligraphers from the Ottoman Empire
1801 births
1876 deaths
19th-century artists from the Ottoman Empire