Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Links between Painting and Photography in Nineteenth-Century Turkey

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 34; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03087291003630154

2150-7295

Pelin Şahin Tekinalp,

Visual Culture and Art Theory

Abstract It is well known that engravings were used by artists as models for their paintings. Another visual source employed by painters was the photograph. This occurred in Turkey after photography was introduced into Ottoman territories as a result of visits made by Europeans to the Ottoman states. In addition, courses on photography were added to the curricula of the schools. Although photography was initially received negatively by the public, the positive attitude of the Ottoman Sultans determined the popularity and acceptance of this branch of art. The introduction of photography and its adoption by the Istanbul public occurred first during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid (1839–1861). Sultans Abdülaziz (1861–1876) and Abdulhamid II (1876–1909) played significant roles in the development of Ottoman photography. In addition, Abdulhamid II appointed photographers to document the events, institutions and structures in the empire and had around 800 photograph albums prepared. In these albums important settlements, structures and gardens of the period are documented. In wall paintings and in paintings on canvas, photographs were notably used as sources. Keywords: Ottoman wall paintingsOttoman photographynineteenth-century TurkeyAbdülmecid (1839–1861)Abdülaziz (1861–1876)Abdulhamid II (1876–1909)Abdullah FrèresVhichen (1820–1902)Hovsep (1830–1908)Kevork (1839–1918) Abdullah Notes 1 – Bernard Lewis, Modern Türkiye'nin Doğuşu, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi 1984, 46. 2 – Günsel Renda, ‘Resim ve Heykel’,Osmanlı Uygarlığı, vol. 2, ed. Günsel Renda and Halil İnalcık, Ankara: T.C. Kültür Bakanlığı Yayını 2002, 935–9. 3 – Emre Dölen, ‘Mühendislik Eğitimi’, Tanzimat'tan Cumhuriyet'e Türkiye Ansiklopedisi, vol. 4, İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları 1985, 511. 4 – Yağmur Say, Top ve Topçuluğun Gelişimi ve Mühendishane-i Berrî-i Humayun, İstanbul: Topçu ve Füze Okulu Matbaası 1995, 39. 5 – Nüzhet İslimyeli, Asker Ressamlar ve Ekoller, Ankara: Asker Ressamlar Sanat Derneği Yayını 1 1965, 11; Mustafa Cezar, Sanatta Batıya Açılış ve Osman Hamdi, İstanbul: Erol Kerim Aksoy Kültür, Eğitim, Spor ve Sağlik Vakfı Yayını, no. 1 (1995), 377. 6 – Engin Özendes, Abdullah Frères. Osmanlı Sarayının Fotoğrafçıları, İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları 1998, 13–15. 7 – Ibid, 16. 8 – Ibid, 29. 9 – Engin Çizgen and G. Beaugué, Images D'Empire; Aux origines de la photographie en Turquie/Türkiye'de Fotoğrafın Öncüleri, İstanbul: Osmanlı Bankası ve Fransız Kültür Merkezi 1996, 253–4. 10 – Özendes, Abdullah Frères, 77–8. 11 – Sultan Abdülhamid II assigned officers to photograph buildings, schools, military units, goverment offices, palaces, etc. The Yıldız Albums of Sultan Abdülhamid II are formed from approximately 35,000 photographs. These photographs were duplicated. The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture obtained one copy and the other copy was given to the library of İstanbul University. 12 – Their names were Vhichen (1820–1902), Hovsep (1830–1908) and Kevork (1839–1918) Abdullah. Eldest Frère Vhichen began his photographic career touching up photographs at the studio opened by Rabach in İstanbul in 1856. When his brother Kevork returned from studying at the Murad Raphelyan School in Venice in 1858, together with third brother Hovsep, they took over Rabach's studio, which became known as Abdullah Fréres. They were masters at both studio and outdoor photography. See Özendes, Abdullah Frères, 29–33. 13 – Ibid., 31–9. 14 – The photographs that were used as sources for canvas paintings discussed by Çoker. See Adnan Çoker, ‘ Fotoğraftan Resim ve Darüşşafakalı Ressamlar’, Yeni Boyut 9 (1983), 4–12. When we examined the photograph albums, the photographs also used as the source of wall paintings were identified. Although we obtained the links between approximately thirty photographs and paintings, we selected six samples for this article. 15 – Semavi Eyice, Çadır Köşkü, in Dünden bugüne İstanbul Ansiklopedisi, vol. 2, İstanbul: Kültür Bakanlığı ve Tarih Vakfı 1994, 457; and Çağlayan Kasrı, in Dünden bugüne İstanbul Ansiklopedisi, 461. 16 – http://www.studioapuleio.it. 17 – Feryal İrez ve Vahide Gezgör, Yıldız Sarayı Kasr-ı Humayunlarından Şale, İstanbul: Milli Saraylar Daire Başkanlığı Yayınları 1991, 20. 18 – Son of Sultan Mehmed II (1432–1481), Münevver Okur, Cem Sultan Hayatı ve Şiir Dünyası, Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları 1992. 19 – The Karnak temple complex, universally known only as Karnak, retrieves its current name from the nearby and partly surrounding modern village of el-Karnak, some 2.5 km north of Luxor in Egypt. 20 – Cezar, Sanatta Batıya Açılış, 227–333. 21 – Engin Özendes, Sébah ve Joaillier'den Foto Sabah'a: Fotoğrafta Oryantalizm, İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları 1999, 173–99. 22 – Sezer Tansuğ, ‘Resim Sanatımızda Ortaya Çıkan Yeni Bir Gerçek: 19. Yüzyıl Sonu Türk Foto Yorumcuları’, Sanat Çevresi, 23 (1980), 4–7; Çoker, ‘Fotoğraftan Resim’, 4–12. 23 –According to the Naval Yearbooks (Bahriye Salnamesi) of 1890 and 1892, Fahri Kaptan was a graduate of the Imperial Naval Academy (Mekteb-i Bahr-i Hümayun). In addition, his name is mentioned among the teaching in the records of Darüşşafaka Lycee. See Tansuğ, ‘Resim Sanatımızda’, 53. 24 – Çizgen and Beaugué, Images D'Empire, 259–60. 25 – Hüseyin Giritli's name is recorded in the list of Darüşşafaka graduates of 1891. The artist's name is also mentioned among the students who were sent to France for further education. Çoker, ‘Fotoğraftan Resim’, 12. 26 – Çoker, ‘Fotoğraftan Resim’, 4–12; Cezar, Sanatta Batıya Açılış, 377. 27 – Manuscripts like Süleymannâme (TSMK H.1517), Hünername (TSMK, H.1523), and Şehinşahname (IUK, F.1404) document the developments and changes that took place in the Topkapı Palace in different periods. See Esin Atıl, Süleymannâme: The Illustrated History of Süleyman the Magnificent, Washington and New York 1986, 90–3. The Topkapı Palace was discussed in Gülru Necipoğlu's book with illuminations from Ottoman manuscripts. See Gülru Necipoğlu, Architecture, Ceremonial and Power, the Topkapı Palace in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries, New York: The Architectural History Foundation 1991, 48, 94 and 95. 28 – Julian Raby, Qajar Portraits, London: I.B. Taurus 1999.