(Mustafa) Halim ?zyazici

(b Istanbul, 1898; d Istanbul, 20 Sept 1964). Turkish calligrapher. He was educated at the G?lsen junior high school in Istanbul, where he received lessons in calligraphy from HAMID AYTA?, with whom he practised the riqa`a style. He then studied drawing and sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy and calligraphy at the School of Calligraphers, both in Istanbul. He practised the thuluth and naskh styles with the calligraphers Hasan Riza (1849-1920) and Kamil Akdik (1862-1941), and the ta'liq style with Mehmed Hulusi (1869-1940). Employed as an officer at the Imperial Chancery of State, he also received lessons in divani from Ferit Bey, the Director. During his military service he worked in the office of the military press and on returning to civilian life worked independently. When the Latin alphabet replaced Arabic script in Turkey in 1928 he gave up calligraphy but in 1948 was appointed 'old writing teacher' at the Fine Arts Academy, where he worked until 1962. He corrected many defective manuscripts of a variety of styles and periods, his work being hard to distinguish from the original. His own work was in various scripts, and he was in particular a master of jali-thuluth (Turk. celi-s?l?s). He also worked in mosques in Istanbul, Ankara and elsewhere in Turkey, as well as on public buildings, fountains and gravestones.

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