Hodja Reading the Koran

Like many of his later paintings, Osman Hamdi Bey, depicted the interior of a religious building in his Hodja Reading the Koran. The interior of Bursa’s Yeşil Cami (Green Mosque) is shown with glass oil lamps, Koran cases and calligraphic panels, among which is a male figure clad in a yellow gown and headgear sitting at his lectern at the mosque’s left lodge. On the marble balustrade separating the lodge hang  three oil lamps, one brass and of Mamluk origin, two glass and of Venetian make. On the side table right behind the hodja is a case made of mother-of-pearl, tortoise shell and wood. On the lower shelf of the side table and on the floor there are books scattered, three of which have inscriptions in Ottoman script on their back. These inscriptions bringing to mind Osman Hamdi Bey’s secret signatures are among the half completed elements of this unfinished painting.

The painting which shows the interior of Ottoman mosques decorated with tiles also provides us examples of the use of calligraphy in architecture. The calligraphic panel hanging over the sülüs and kûfî calligraphy belt running midst the tiles covering the walls bear witness to Islamic art’s calligraphy. The calligraphic panel in question is an element that can be seen in the artist’s other paintings as well, and one of these is in Sakıp Sabancı Museum Collection. In the depicted panel, the Arabic expressions meaning ‘He is compassionate and forgiving’ in black ink and ‘I seek refuge in God’s mercy’ in yellow ink are interlinked. Under the panel, on the mosque’s tile belt is an inscription meaning ‘if the mountains and the sky were torn apart.’