Prince Abdülmecid Efendi and the Art of Calligraphy

1 April - 29 January 2023

Prince Abdülmecid Efendi and the Art of Calligraphy

Known as a painter, but also interested in music and calligraphy, Abdülmecid Efendi trained himself in calligraphy by making copies of panels by famous calligraphers in the palace collections, at a time when he was forced to live under surveillance in the palace, cut off from the outside world. Many of his paintings also feature calligraphic panels. “Prince Abdülmecid Efendi and the Art of Calligraphy” exhibition focuses on the sultans who were Prince Abdülmecid Efendi’s grandfather, uncle, father and cousin; Mahmud II (r. 1808-39), Sultan Abdülmecid (r. 1839-61), Sultan Abdülaziz (r. 1861-76) and Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876-1909) respectively. The exhibition presents its visitors various calligraphic examples through works by Mahmud II's calligraphic masters Kebecizade Mehmed Vasfî (d. 1831) and Mustafa Râkım (d. 1826), as well as panels and kıt’as by the calligrapher sultans themselves.

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Selected

Works

Multimedia

Museum Program

12 September - 14 December 2025

Suzanne Lacy: Birlikte/Togæther

13 September 2024 - 16 March 2025

Georg Baselitz: The Last Decade

26 December 2023 - 23 June 2024

A Forgotten Woman of the Republic: The Many Ways of Melek Celâl

16 September 2022 - 29 January 2023

Hussein Chalayan. Souffleur

13 September 2022 – 30 October 2023

Agnes Denes. The Living Pyramid

16 September 2022 - 11 August 2024

Turkish Painting: In the Pursuit of Modernism

11 May - 29 July 2022

David Hockney: The Arrival of Spring, Normandy, 2020

21 December 2021 – 28 August 2022

The Prince's Extraordinary World: Abdülmecid Efendi

21 December 2021 - 28 August 2022

Abdülmecid Efendi: Beyond Vision

3 September 2021 - 28 November 2021

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