Painted decoration in Birgi mosques

The art of painted decoration (kalemişi) is a type of decoration that is mostly applied to plaster, but also to stone, wood and fabric, and is created using fine-bristled pencils with natural dyes. In the second half of the 17th century, with the political and economic weakening of the Ottoman Empire in the second half of the 17th century, changes occurred in the Turkish decorative arts as the painters were directed towards western culture. Baroque and Rococo styles dominated classical patterns in pencil decorations. Classical motifs were replaced by acanthus leaf, curtain, oil lamp, bow motifs, oyster shell, clam shell, clam, "C" and "S" curves, stylized leaves, flower-filled vases, fruit bowls and baskets. The Derviş Ağa Mosque and Karaoğlu Mosque, which are the subject of our thesis, are located in Birgi sub-district of İzmir's Ödemiş district. The Derviş Ağa Mosque dates to the 17th century, while the Karaoğlu Mosque dates to the 18th century. When the mosques are analyzed in terms of ornamentation, we see beautiful examples of the late Ottoman period painted decoration in both the exterior and interior decoration. Curtains, oil lamps, acanthus leaf motifs, "C" and "S" curves, tree groups, floral bouquets, stylized leaves and stylized flowers are used in different compositions. "Allah", "Muhammed", "Ebû Bekir", "Ömer", "Osmân", "Ali", "Hasan", "Hüseyin", names of Seven Sleepers (Ashabe Kahaf), and "Bilâl-i Habeşî" are seen. In the use of colors are among the prominent colors. Birgi Derviş Ağa and Karaoğlu Mosques were compared with mosques dating back to the same period. Unlike our Birgi mosques, civilian housing, madrasah, mosque, minaret, city depiction, and castle motifs are seen in the buildings that bear common traces of late Ottoman ornamentation. Keywords: History of Turkish Islamic Arts, Painted Decoration, Birgi Derviş Ağa Mosque, Birgi Karaoğlu Mosque, Late Ottoman.