Abdulcelil Levni
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Levnî Abdülcelil Çelebi (1680s–1732) was an early 18th century Ottoman
court painter A court painter was an artist who painted for the members of a royal or princely family, sometimes on a fixed salary and on an exclusive basis where the artist was not supposed to undertake other work. Painters were the most common, but the cour ...
under the Sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III. He was a prominent Ottoman miniaturist during the
Tulip Period The Tulip Period, or Tulip Era (Ottoman Turkish: لاله دورى, tr, Lâle Devri), is a period in Ottoman history from the Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718 to the Patrona Halil Revolt on 28 September 1730. This was a relatively peacef ...
, well-regarded for his traditional yet innovative style.


Biography

Levnî Abdülcelil Çelebi was born in
Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...
and most likely belonged to a high class family in the empire because his title,
Çelebi Çelebi is a town and district of Kırıkkale Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located m ...
, means " gentleman". Levnî began his work in Istanbul during Sultan Mustafa II's rule and eventually became chief painter at the palace
atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or ...
. During his stay at the palace, he specialized in the
Saz style Saz style ( Turk. ''saz yolu'') is a style of vegetal ornament and associated with it art style in the 16th-century Ottoman Empire. Saz was a style of vegetal ornament popular in Ottoman decorative arts of the 16th century, characterized by the ...
, which is characterized by stylized leaf designs. In spite of his high artist status, his name does not appear on a lists of artists working for the palace during his time. However, his signed artworks and influence on subsequent artists are evidence that he was an important artist of his time. Levnî died in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
during the early 18th century.


Notable works

Levnî's most notable works include the ''Kebir Musavver Silsilename'' in Topkapi Palace Library (A3109), '' Surname-i Vehbi'' ("Book of Festivals") in the Library of Ahmed II in Topkapi Palace Museum, and an ''Album'' of miniatures at the Topkapi Palace Library.


''Kebir Musaver Silsilmane, Topkapi Palace Museum Library''

Also known as the ''Series of Sultan Portraits'', this work contains twenty-three padishas, including portraits of Sultan Mahmud I, Sultan
Osman III Osman III ( ota, عثمان ثالث ''Osmān-i sālis'';‎ 2 January 1699 – 30 October 1757) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757. Early life Osman III was born on 2 January 1699 in the Edirne Palace. His father was Must ...
, Sultan Mustafa III, and Sultan
Abdulhamid I Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid I ( ota, عبد الحميد اول, ''`Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i evvel''; tr, Birinci Abdülhamid; 20 March 1725 – 7 April 1789) was the 27th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning over the Ottoman Empire from 1774 to ...
. Gathering influence from western styles, particularly portraiture of
Rafael Rafael may refer to: * Rafael (given name) or Raphael, a name of Hebrew origin * Rafael, California * Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israeli manufacturer of weapons and military technology * Hurricane Rafael, a 2012 hurricane Fiction * ''R ...
, Levnî created a genealogical tree of the Sultans using images instead of text like traditional padishas. Levnî's signature style in this work is evident in the size and color of the portraits in the book. His portraits are large (14.3 cm x 23.5 cm x 16.4 cm x 25 cm), and the subjects are turned 3/4 to the right or left of the view of the viewer. Additionally, he used a wide range of colors, both bright primary and pastel tones. His combination of color palettes was innovative for its time and gave way to a new style of Ottoman miniature art.


''Surname-i Vebbi''

The ''Surname-i Vebbi'' is a ceremony book containing a series of miniatures depicting scenes from the circumcision of the sons of the Sultan in 1720. The event was celebrated for fifteen days and fifteen nights and involved a courtly processions. Levnî was commissioned by Seyyd Hüseyin Vehbi to record the event in manuscript form. The miniatures in the ''Surname-i Vebbi'' are elaborate , capturing varying angles of movement in a wide range of colors and shapes. There is also evidence of the Persian influence in the paintings some examples of which are the cultural objects in the background and the attire of some of the figures.


''Album Paintings''

The ''Album paintings'' captures daily life in the Ottoman empire during the
Tulip period The Tulip Period, or Tulip Era (Ottoman Turkish: لاله دورى, tr, Lâle Devri), is a period in Ottoman history from the Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718 to the Patrona Halil Revolt on 28 September 1730. This was a relatively peacef ...
. In it, Levnî painted portraits of various people of both noble and common backgrounds in different poses and doing everyday activities. Each image is separated form the others and has its own color composition and subject matter. The styles of attire, fabric patterns and the type of activities reflect the finery and richness of the Tulip Period.


Other Works

Levni was also a notable poet and wrote on the subjects of heroism and war and daily life in the Ottoman empire. Some of his work are found in the poetry manuscript (Mecmua-i Es'ar, H1715) in the Treasure Library of Topkapi Palace Museum Library. Like his paintings, Levnî combined traditional styles of courts, particularly the
aruz meter Aruz wezni, or aruz prosody, is a kind of Turkic poetic rhythm. The earliest founder of this versification system was Khalil ibn Ahmad. There were 16 kinds of modalities of aruz at first. Later Persian scholars added 3 kinds. For example, the Turk ...
, as well as humor and popular language of the people in his poetry.


Examples of Levnî's miniatures

File:Levni mehter.jpg File:Surname 22b.jpg File:Surname 11a.jpg File:Surname 51b.jpg File:Surname 27.jpg File:Surname 71b.jpg File:Surname 57b-58.jpg File:Surname 174b.jpg File:Abudlcelil Levni - Sultan.jpg File:Musicians and dancers from ottoman empire.jpg File:Palace maiden.jpg


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 ...


References

*


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levni, Abdulcelil Year of birth missing 1732 deaths Miniaturists from the Ottoman Empire People from Edirne 18th-century artists from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire