Photos: Turkey’s ‘Microangelo’ turns tiny objects into artworks

By HT Correspondent

Updated On Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

For Turkey's "Microangelo", any tiny, discarded item could be the canvas for his next mini masterpiece, from a matchstick to a pumpkin seed. The delicate, impeccably detailed miniature paintings of Hasan Kale often require a magnifying glass to be able to see the nuances but can take months to complete. Some of his best-known pieces include a scene from the movie "Pulp Fiction" on the side of a piece of popcorn and the silhouette of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on a grain of rice.

Share Via

Copy Link

1 / 7

A landscape painted on a razor blade by Turkey’s micro artist Hasan Kale in Istanbul. His canvas could be anything from match sticks, seeds to razors and crown corks. Turkey’s micro artist, also known as Turkish Microangelo in reference to Italian Renaissance sculptor and painter Michelangelo, has been hitting his brush onto tiny everyday objects for more than two decades. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

A landscape painted on a razor blade by Turkey’s micro artist Hasan Kale in Istanbul. His canvas could be anything from match sticks, seeds to razors and crown corks. Turkey’s micro artist, also known as Turkish Microangelo in reference to Italian Renaissance sculptor and painter Michelangelo, has been hitting his brush onto tiny everyday objects for more than two decades. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

2 / 7

Some of his best-known pieces include a scene from the movie “Pulp Fiction” on the side of a piece of popcorn and the silhouette of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on a grain of rice. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

Some of his best-known pieces include a scene from the movie “Pulp Fiction” on the side of a piece of popcorn and the silhouette of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on a grain of rice. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

3 / 7

“I started this journey 25 years ago with the goal of establishing a new language in art... by transforming the objects that we put aside or see as trash into little capsules of art,” he said, at his Istanbul studio. “It is a blend of experience and hand discipline. I can work on a single object for up to six months.” (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

“I started this journey 25 years ago with the goal of establishing a new language in art... by transforming the objects that we put aside or see as trash into little capsules of art,” he said, at his Istanbul studio. “It is a blend of experience and hand discipline. I can work on a single object for up to six months.” (Ozan Kose / AFP)

4 / 7

The 60-year-old artist, who has never had a formal art teacher, began researching miniature art in the 1980s. He was stunned, he said, by how tiny details and touches can change a form of artistic expression. But it was not until 1995 that he had the idea of doing it himself on unconventional objects. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

The 60-year-old artist, who has never had a formal art teacher, began researching miniature art in the 1980s. He was stunned, he said, by how tiny details and touches can change a form of artistic expression. But it was not until 1995 that he had the idea of doing it himself on unconventional objects. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

5 / 7

Hasan Kale paints a moon landscape on a bottle cap in Istanbul. Kale has used some 300 items and revels in the idea that any forgettable item -- from a pebble stone in the sea, to a fish bone that gets stuck in your teeth -- could become a work of art. “Imagine the noise of hundreds of seeds as you bite into a fig. Can you dream an Istanbul view on one of them?” he said, enthusiastically. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

Hasan Kale paints a moon landscape on a bottle cap in Istanbul. Kale has used some 300 items and revels in the idea that any forgettable item -- from a pebble stone in the sea, to a fish bone that gets stuck in your teeth -- could become a work of art. “Imagine the noise of hundreds of seeds as you bite into a fig. Can you dream an Istanbul view on one of them?” he said, enthusiastically. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

6 / 7

View Photos in a new improved layout

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

Kale says his greatest muse is Turkey’s historic hub, Istanbul. “Istanbul is a brand on its own. It is a rare city which never sleeps, which straddles two continents and harbours the traces of many cultures,” he said. He learned his trade by studying Ottoman artists from the past, like Nakkas Osman, nicknamed “Osman the Miniaturist”, who was featured in Orhan Pamuk’s novel “My Name is Red”. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

7 / 7

“While walking in the street, I come up with an idea and I sit down and work. All I need is a drop of water in a bottle cap and I take out my palette and paints.” Kale, who also designs jewellery, said he likes the way people recall his work. “They remember me when they eat popcorn at the movies or drink a cup of coffee or swim in the sea,” he said. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Updated on Sept 04, 2019 10:33 am IST

“While walking in the street, I come up with an idea and I sit down and work. All I need is a drop of water in a bottle cap and I take out my palette and paints.” Kale, who also designs jewellery, said he likes the way people recall his work. “They remember me when they eat popcorn at the movies or drink a cup of coffee or swim in the sea,” he said. (Ozan Kose / AFP)

Home / Photos / News / Photos: Turkey’s ‘Microangelo’ turns tiny objects into artworks

SHARE

Copy

Whatsapp Twitter Facebook Linkedin

Copyright © 2026 HT Digital Streams Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Your Subscription Plan

Saved Articles

Subscribe Now!

Follow Us On