Calligrapher Aziz Efendi and his place in the art of calligraphy

In our thesis titled "Calligrapher Aziz Efendi and His Place in Calligraphy Art," we have included the life of Aziz Efendi and compiled his works. Additionally, the accessible works have been classified, evaluated, and compared in terms of the rules of calligraphy art. In this study, the efforts and successes of Aziz Efendi, one of the 20th-century calligraphers, both within the country and abroad, in the development of calligraphy art, have been detailed. From this point of view, the value he added to calligraphy and the conformity of his works to this art have been determined through modern methods, based on his plaques, murakkas, kıt'as, hilyes, and Qur'ans. As a result of this determination, the importance of examining his works in terms of both technical and artistic value has been highlighted. With this research, a detailed study has been conducted in which the works of Aziz Efendi, one of the most prominent calligraphers of his time, have been compiled and evaluated in the light of the principles of calligraphy art. By determining the importance of Aziz Efendi's deep aesthetic and artistic thought through his life and works, another link has been added to the existing studies, and it has been presented to the art world and academic community. In our study, we have included topics such as how the calligrapher contributed to this art, the influence of his mentors' writing styles, the extent to which he was affected by the artistic understanding and political environment of his time, and the nature of the influence he had on those who followed him. At the same time, this study includes forty-seven sülüs-celî sülüs, twenty-six ta'lîk-celî ta'lîk, eleven kıt'as, four tuğras, eleven hutût-ı mütenevvia, three hilye-i şerifs, two hatt-ı icâzes, twenty-five murakka' plaques, three Qur'ans (six pages), and nine tombstone inscriptions by Aziz Efendi. The qualitative research method was used in this study. After determining the subject, an archive-based study was conducted, utilizing libraries, online resources, and various other sources. As a result of a comprehensive literature review on the subject, information about the lives of Calligrapher Aziz Efendi, his mentors, and his students was compiled from relevant sources. His works were identified from museums, libraries, private collections, online resources, catalogs, and various books. Furthermore, many visits were made to mosques, dervish lodges, and tombs to trace plaques, band inscriptions, tombstones, and inscriptions signed by Aziz Efendi. As a result of the examinations conducted through his life and works, we conclude that Calligrapher Aziz Efendi was a calligrapher with the potential to guide his followers. In this context, it is believed that Aziz Efendi was one of the rare figures who contributed to the evolution of calligraphy art with the visual richness in his compositions, the robustness and vitality in the structures of letters. This study, in which Aziz Efendi's works have been extensively examined and evaluated in terms of calligraphy art, provides the academic community and the art world with a rich visual archive. In this sense, we hope that our study will contribute to the field.