Mürvet Bilgin

While miniature art generally deals with historical, literary, and scientific subjects, Turkish-Ottoman miniatures focused mostly on historical themes. However, in this work, the artist chose to paint a mythological bird that was not bound by classical subjects, time, or space. Mürvet Bilgin has recreated the mythologic bird Simurgh, a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology, and has beautifully replicated the mythological figure by reflecting her imagination of the bird in colour. In addition, the artist has enhanced the scene by adding cloud-like motifs, which have added movement to the scene and affected the stance of the bird in the centre. The bird is originally black-and-white (located in the T.K.S Museum H.2160).

Humans, nature, and architectural elements are the most frequently depicted subjects in miniature art. Unlike classical subjects, the artist chose to use a mythological element in this work. Mürvet Bilgin has interpreted this originally black-and-white reproduction (located in the Bibliotheque Nationale, 4112, 1640-1648) in colour. The artist not only replicates this reinterpretation of the mythological dragon figure, but also incorporates it into a new scene designed by herself. The artist has added elements to the scene, such as the rock and trees behind the dragon, to create a particular narrative. The miniature contains some micro-details that can only be seen by closely inspecting the original artwork with a magnifying glass.