Paris hosts exhibition on Ottoman genius Matrakci Nasuh

By Fatma Esma Arslan

PARIS (AA) - Turkish Culture Minister Nabi Avci inaugurated an exhibition on Ottoman scholar and intellectual Matrakci Nasuh at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris Thursday.

The exhibition was titled “Matrakci Nasuh: A 16th Century Genius”.

“Nasuh was a famous 16th-century Ottoman philosopher, mathematician and a historian. At the same time, he was an important scientist and an artist who came of age to be known as an athlete, poet, artist, painter, calligraphist and a miniaturist," Avci said at the opening ceremony.

UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova was also present at the ceremony.

The exhibition opened in Paris after it was showcased in Sarajevo, Belgrade, Istanbul, Vienna and Tokyo to mark Nasuh's 450th death anniversary.

Nasuh (1480-1564) was an accomplished miniaturist. He depicted events realistically but stayed loyal to Islamic art conventions.

Nasuh’s most famous works are a cityscape of Istanbul and volumes representing Sultan Suleiman I’s 1535-36 campaign in Iraq and Iran.

The exhibition will run until Nov. 10 and will be displayed next in Washington in December.

In 2013, UNESCO included Matrakci Nasuh in its “remembrance and celebration anniversaries” agenda to mark the 460th year of his death.

The exhibition is supported by Turkey’s presidency and designed by the Istanbul Intercultural Art Dialogues Association; Anadolu Agency is the global communications partner.