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Impacts of Westernization on Turkish Painting Osman Hamdi Bey- Vasiliy Vereshchagin
Osman Hamdi Bey
Westernization movements of the Ottoman Empire in the field of arts were reinforced with
the artists who were sent to European countries since the beginning. Among the Ottoman
painters who were sent abroad for education, Osman Hamdi Bey stands out.
Although he went to Paris in 1860 for a different purpose such as law education, Osman
Hamdi’s interest in fine arts resulted in dropping out of law school and starting painting
courses at Paris School of Fine Arts. In that period, other than the official school which gave
fine arts education in Paris, there were workshops with Academy status. Osman Hamdi Bey
worked in the private workshops which belonged to Jean-Léon Gérome (1824-1904) and
Gustave Boulanger (1824-1888). Especially the courses he got in Gérome’s workshop have a
significant place in the Russian-Ottoman arts interaction as explained below.
During Osman Hamdi’s education of 12 years in Paris, other two young Turks who will
contribute in the development of Ottoman painting in the future were also there. These young
Turks who came to Paris in 1862 were Ahmet Ali Efendi (Şeker Ahmet Paşa) and Süleyman
Seyyid. Gérome and Gustave Boulanger were teachers of Ahmet Ali Efendi as well.
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Jean-Léon Gérome
While the Ottoman Empire tried to reflect the western perceptions are reflected in painting art
by sending artists to Europe, especially Paris on one hand, painting courses included in the
curriculums of the Engineering School and Military College in İstanbul, the Capital of the
Empire on the other hand. Although they tried to improve portraits by hanging portraits of the
Sultans in the state agencies, it is striking that the first oil painting pieces of the painters
mostly consist of landscapes (Cezar, 1987, p. 25, Germaner and İnankur, 1989, p. 300-311).
While these developments were taking place in İstanbul, the broadness of the study area of
Osman Hamdi Bey, who was educated in Paris, could not be overlooked. Osman Hamdi
painted portraits, landscapes, still life paintings and especially compositions with figures. As
well as charcoal portraits and pattern works, most of his works are compositions with figures
and portraits. While talking about his place in Turkish painting art, his compositions with
figures are prioritized the most.
4.Art Education of Vasily Vereshchagin
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Impacts of Westernization on Turkish Painting Osman Hamdi Bey- Vasiliy Vereshchagin
Vereshchagin
During Osman Hamdi’s education in Paris with the purpose of bringing western painting
styles to the painting circles in the Ottoman Empire, famous Russian painter Vereshchagin
was also in that city. As a result of Vereshchagin’s working with Osman Hamdi in the same
workshops in the same period, emergence of some common grounds in the paintings of these
two artists is significant in that it opens a new page in the Russian-Ottoman painting
interaction.
This process, which started when Vereshchagin (1842-1904) completed his compulsory
painting education in the Academy and continued his education in Paris using the inheritance
from his grandfather, continued with the artist’s enrolment in Paris Academy in 1864 and
participated in the painting studies in the workshops of Alexandre Bida (1864) and Jean-Léon
Gérome'un (1864-66) in the same years.
The artist decided to leave Paris and go to Caucasia in March 1865. He explained the reason
for that as follows: “Paris was like a dungeon to me, I need to be integrated with people to
paint freely”. During his short stay in Caucasia, he visited various regions and he reflected his
impressions about the life of people in his paintings in the following years.
After a short visit to St Petersburg in Autumn 1865, the artist returned to Paris and continued
his education. Vereshchagin brought the sketches he made during his trip in Caucasia to Paris
and he made various paintings with the inspiration he got from these sketches. These
paintings in which he reflected the exotic atmosphere of the eastern people, which is not
known in Europe, were honoured in the arts circles of Paris, especially with the
complimentary words of Gérome.
While continuing his education in Paris Academy in winter 1865-66, Vereshchagin
maintained his work on paintings continuously. This heavy work of the artist ended when he
completed his education in Paris in spring 1866 and returned to Russia (Lebedev and
Solodovnikov, 1987, p. 13-16).
When he was appointed to observe and depict the military operations in Turkmenistan in
1867-69, he reflected the daily lives of the people on the canvas as well as military
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manoeuvres and life in the army. These pieces which the artist named as “Turkmenistan
Series” were completed in Munich and introduced to the European and Russian arts circles
with exhibitions in London in 1873 and St. Petersburg in spring 1874 (Lebedev and
Solodovnikov, 1987, p. 38-39).
5.Conclusion
It can be seen that the artist was influenced by his teacher in two paintings in “Turkmenistan
Series”; “Tamerlan’s Gate” (1872-73) in which he depicted two soldier in authentic military
costumes at the Tamerlan’s Gate and “Mosque Gate” (1873) which is almost an ethnographic
piece of work with the people standing in front of the mosque gate in local costumes. The
apparent conclusion in that context is significant in terms of Russian-Ottoman painting art
interaction. As stated above, Vereshchagin was trained at the Gérome’s workshop along with
Osman Hamdi Bey who was one of the significant cornerstones in Turkish painting and
museology. The experience obtained as a result of this education can be clearly observed in
the common points which become apparent in the works by two artists. The success of both
artists in reflecting the mystical atmosphere of the East, the brightness of the daylight, the
craftsmanship in reflecting the local architectural structures on the canvas are the common
points of Vereshchagin and Osman Hamdi Bey. Osman Hamdi Bey’s paintings such as
“Sultan Leaving the Mosque” (1887) and “Imams Talking in front of Mosque Gates” (no
date) are concrete examples of this relationship.
The most significant aspects of Osman Hamdi Bey’s paintings are that the objects consist of
Turkish architecture ant art pieces and they are reflected in the paintings with delicacy and an
intense desire. Similarly, Vereshchagin’s depicting the monuments and daily life and clothes
of local people he saw in Caucasia and Turkmenistan with delicacy and his style when
reflecting his interest in the mystical atmosphere of the East are similar to Osman Hamdi Bey.
The documentary aspects of the paintings by both artists today is another factor which
approximates these two artists.
Osman Hamdi Vereshchagin
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