ڇهين صدي عيوض: روم نمائش

The exhibition of Matrakçı Nasuh, “Sixteenth Century Genius,” inaugurated in Rome as part of the celebrations for the 150th anniversary of the foundation of this institution.

The long-expected exhibition of “Matrakçı Nasuh” finally came to Rome after the stakes in Sarajevo, Belgrade, the G20 of Antalya, Istanbul, Vienna, Tokyo, and Paris. Matrakçı Nasuh – strategist, mathematician, historian, miniaturist, geographer, and cartographer – is an active genius at the Ottoman court, particularly under the sultans Selim I and Solimano the Magnificent.

The Matrakçı Nasuh (1480-1564) exhibition, accompanied by the documentary “Matrakçi Stella Ottomana,” was realized for this project with the support of the General Directorate of Cinema of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, directed by Ali Sina Gürsu and produced from Art & Life Production, and will help the Italian public to know about one of the most important minds of this generation.

Curated by Beste Gürsu with the artistic coordination of painter, Sevim Ersoy, the exhibition is housed in the halls of the Italian Geographic Society which has an extraordinary map archive and one of the most important libraries in Europe in the geographic sector. It includes 41 works produced by 12 Turkish artists who have uploaded images of urban mappings or hand-made miniatures by Matrakçı Nasuh during Eastern and Western military campaigns and present in their respective two works Beyan-Menazil Sefer-i Irakeyn and Tarih-i Feth and i Sikloş Estergon ve İstol Belgrad.

Matrakçı Nasuh has left to the world a wonderful cartographic heritage with great historical artistic value. As to the knowledge of the extraordinary abilities of Matrakçı Nasuh, thanks to its mappings and miniatures, the audience can follow the route of the two military campaigns described and thus appreciate this exposure not only in the artistic and technical sense, but also in a chronological and historical sense.

To complement the project, the Turkish Automobile and Touring Club has translated from Turkish classical (ancient) to modern Turkish the “Tarih-i Sultan Beyazid” opera by Matrakçı Nasuh, located at Topkapi Palace (registered as No. 1272), and the General Directorate of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey has released a music album titled “Turkish Music of the Sixteenth Century.”

The Turkish Post PTT A.Ş. printed a postcard and a commemorative stamp, and UNESCO has published a catalogue dedicated to the project. That’s the importance of Matrakçi Nasuh, that in 2014 UNESCO wanted to include his 450th anniversary of death within the anniversaries to commemorate.

After the Roman stage, the show will move to Washington and Budapest, covering a total of 3 continents, 9 countries, and 10 cities.

The “Sixteenth Century Genius” project was carried out by the IKASD – Istanbul Intercultural Art Dialog Association, under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey, the National Committee for Turkey of UNESCO, the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey at the Holy See, and the Culture and Information Office of the Turkish Embassy in Rome.

Among other collaborations: Anadolu Agency – Global Communication Partner, Turkish Automobile and Touring Club, Daily Sabah-Haber-Sabah, PTT A.Ş., Art & Life Production, CC Tercüme, Insan ve Sanat, and Turkish Airlines.

The exhibition will be open to the public until July 28 at the Italian Geographic Society, Palazzo Mattei in Villa Celimontana Via della Navicella 12 in Rome.