Madrasa

Put simply, a madrasa is an educational institution in the Islamic world. Madrasas were most often found attached to a mosque. Before the influence of Western educational systems and pedagogy, madrasas were the primary space for men in Istanbul to learn theology, science, philosophy, and law. 

In Madrasa of Gazanfer Ağa, we see a group of men kneeling on the floor of a classroom at a madrasa in Istanbul. Each figure is actively engaged with the lesson at hand, holding open books in their grasps, gazing at the figure of the teacher before them. The only subject depicted solitarily and at a larger scale, this professor is given a place of great importance within the composition of the piece and within the madrasa itself.