Nusret Çolpan (October 1, 1952 – May 31, 2008) was a Turkish painter, architect and miniaturist, renowned for his paintings in Ottoman miniature style depicting cities around the world, particularly

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. He painted over 300 miniatures in his 30-year career.

Life and work

Nusret Çolpan was born in 1952 in Bandirma; he attended high school in Zincirlikuyu Meslek Lisesi and worked as a waiter and at a newsstand. Çolpan's talent for painting was recognized before he moved to

. He became locally recognised for his microscopically detailed drawings of mosques on wooden spoons. On the advice of Dr Suheyl Unver (to whom he was introduced by his uncle Ali Oztaylan) he studied in the department of architecture at Yıldız Technical University. There he was taught by Unver and Azade Akar, two of the leading authorities in Turkish illumination and miniature painting of the time. NusretColpan80s

Subsequently, he worked on Ottoman illumination in a small atelier with his closest friend Semih Irtes in the

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

district. He travelled extensively in Europe and, after his return to Turkey, married Husniye Çolpan in 1979. In the same year, he opened a small interior decoration atelier, also in Fatih, and continued to paint. An interview with him was published in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' in 1984. At the same time, his paintings started to be known and appreciated more widely. He painted over 250 watercolor miniatures, mostly of cities, such as New York,

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

, and featured in many exhibitions until the year 1999. In that year he painted eight miniatures for the 700th anniversary of the foundation of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1999, on the occasion of the opening of the

Istanbul Metro The Istanbul Metro () is a rapid transit railway network that serves the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Apart from the M11 line, which is operated by TCDD Taşımacılık, the system is operated by Metro Istanbul, a public enterprise controlled by th ...

, he started to work at very large scales (over 20 meters) in collaboration with Iznik Foundation, producing many paintings on tiles. They are currently displayed in

Beykoz Beykoz () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 310 km2, and its population is 247,875 (2022). It lies at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name i ...

Ferry Harbour, Kadir Has University, Ministry of Religious Affairs,

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

, and overseas in Zabeel Park in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, making him known around the world. He continued to work into his last years. He also taught art in Cerrahpasa and at Yıldız. Çolpan died of heart disease on May 31, 2008, in Istanbul.

Art

Çolpan was inspired by Matrakci Nasuh, who lived during the period of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

. Cities are the main subjects of most of Çolpan's paintings, but he also painted such subjects as Noah's Ark, the Battle of Preveza, the

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

and the Mevlana and

Sema Sama (; ) is a Sufi ceremony performed as part of the meditation and prayer practice dhikr. Sama means "listening", while dhikr means "remembrance".During, J., and R. Sellheim. "Sama" Encyclopedia of Islam, Second Edition. Ed. P. Bearman, T. B ...

ceremonies. Çolpan was notable for his use of spiral forms in many miniatures. He pioneered the painting of miniatures on tiles and in general revived the art of Turkish miniature painting after centuries of neglect.

Awards

*Award of Turkey Ministry of Culture *Award of Türk Kültürüne Hizmet Vakfı *Mevlana Success Award *Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs *Türkiye Yazarlar Birliği Traditional Arts Success Award

Exhibitions

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...

Press Museum Atatürk Library Municipality of Istanbul Bandırma Art Center Caferağa Medresesi Cemal Reşit Rey Exhibition Hall Tuğra Art Gallery Ali Müfit Gürtuna Art Center Kadir Has University Taksim Art Gallery Bursa Teyyare Culture Center

References

* ''The Wall Street Journal'', October 24, 1984, Page 1

External links

nusretcolpan.com.tr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colpan, Nusret 1952 births 2008 deaths Modern painters Turkish miniaturists Turkish painters