LECTURES ON OTTOMAN ARCHITECTURE
Space, Light and Structure: The Sacred architecture of Mimar Sinan.
Anyone who has studied the history of art or architecture is familiar with the magnificent domes of Florence Cathedral by Brunelleschi (1) and St. Peter’s Rome by Michelangelo (2) Neither architect lived to see the construction finished or had the opportunity to experiment with other large domes
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Mimar Sinan, Michelangelo’s contemporary in Istanbul, chief architect to Suleyman the Magnificent and two other sultans, over a period of fifty years, is not so well known in the west. Yet he far outstripped the Italians in the scope of his architecture.
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(3) Shezade Mosque 1543; (4 & 7) Selimiye Mosque 1570 (6) Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque 1568 (8 & 9) Mihrimah Sultan Mosque 1563
In this lecture I show how Sinan, rooted in Islamic tradition, experienced as an engineer , and endowed with imagination, played variations on the domed hall unparalled in the work of any architect in history. The analysis of his design is set in the context of Ottoman history and society.
Henry Matthews, Professor Emeritus of Washington State University has lectured on Ottoman Architecture and the work of Mimar Sinan at the following institutions:
The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; The University of Washington; Boğaziçi University, Istanbul; Kadir Has University, Istanbul; American Research Institute in Turkey, Istanbul; The University of Damascus, Syria; The Society of Architectural Historians, Marion Dean Ross Chapter, (Northwest USA)
If you would like to arrange a lecture at your institution, please contact Henry Matthews at henry@henrymatthews.com (206) 325-6359)
