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Osman Asaf of the First Generation
Artists of Turkish Painting
Figure 3. Detail from the cover of the first issue of
Figure 4. Osman Asaf, Uğurlu, 1991
the Journal of Ottoman Society of Painters, Güler, 2007
4-1. The Subject of Osman Asaf’s Works
The most important subject of Western-style Turkish painting was “landscape”. The interest
in landscape began with the artists educated in military schools and this subject became the
main theme of Turkish painting for long years. However, it can be observed that there are
different schools of painting with respect to how the landscape is reflected on the canvas. For
example, many painters educated at Darüşşafaka High School formed a group, who would
paint an exact replica of a photograph. Meanwhile, the Orientalist tradition led by Osman
Hamdi Bey constituted a different school on its own. With painters who were graduates of the
Military Academy, there emerged a style based upon elaborate details and superior powers of
observation. Osman Nuri Pasha, Süleyman Seyyid, Hoca Ali R za, Hüseyin Zekai Pasha and
Ahmed Ziya Akbulut were the major painters using this style. Impressionistic style, which
was observed in the works of the artists who graduated from the School of Fine Arts as an
effect of the education they received in France, was a common denominator of the painters of
the Generation of 1914 (Giray, n.d., pp. 58ff.)
It is the natural outcome of the level of progress along with the Ottoman society
achieved throughout the centuries by a deep-rooted tradition that the leading artists of
European painting were able to start to produce modern artworks in those days. However, as
Western-style Turkish painting did not yet have such a foundation, it could not be expected
from Osman Asaf and his contemporaries to produce artworks that would reflect the most
recent European style. The first generation of representatives of Turkish painting chose nature
and urban landscapes, still life and mostly interiors without figures as the main subject types
of their paintings. It can be seen that Osman Asaf placed emphasis on landscape painting from
the start. He did not cease to use this subject type until the end of his life (Figure 4). It is
possible to classify the artist’s paintings under five headings with respect to style and content:
secluded nature scenes, architectural monuments in nature, historical streets and buildings,
still life and portrait.
Secluded nature scenes: Under this heading are the works which are mostly without
figures or where figures are not in the foreground, where scenes of spring with different
shades of green are painted, where additionally winter scenes are depicted, where luminous
effects are created with the help of reflections from a little creek or river and which are
paintings of country side, forests or trees offering a cut view of nature or a broad perspective.
Stillness and tranquility are the main aspects of these paintings (Figures 5-8).
Figure 5. Bridge. 1895, oil
on canvas, 24x34 cm. Uğurlu, 1991
Zeynep Demircan Aksoy
274
Figure 6. Landscape. 1910, gouache on cardboard, 26x52 cm. Uğurlu, 1991
Figure 7. Trees. 1917, watercolor on cardboard,
gouache, 24x15.5 cm.
Artium Art Gallery Archive-
İstanbul
Figure 8. Forest in Winter. 1928, oil on hardboard,
38x26 cm. Uğurlu, 1991
Architecture in nature (farm houses – fountains): Includes paintings with a strong
documentary feel with scenes of single or two-story houses with wide overhangs, red roofs
and which are surrounded with trees, and fountains and have become a part of nature (Figures
9-12).
Figure 9. From Küçük Çamlıca. (n.d.)
Figure 10. Landscape. (n.d.) oil on cardboard, 25x40
oil on canvas, 40x100 cm. Alif Art, 2010
cm. Artium Art Gallery Archive-İstanbul
Figure
11.
Fountain. 1922,
watercolor
on
paper
Figure 12. Landscape. (n.d.) oil
on wood panel, 24.50x16 cm. Bali, 2009 31x42.5 cm. Artium Art Gallery Archive-İstanbul
Historical
streets
and
buildings:
Includes
works painted
by
using
powerful
observation
and the principle of realism, which portray historical streets, houses with bay windows and
other architectural examples belonging to urban landscape of the cities, primarily İstanbul, in
275
Osman Asaf of the First Generation Artists of Turkish Painting
which the artist lived. The realistic depiction of the paintings makes them an historical
document for street views (Figures 13-17).
Figure 13. Üsküdar Doğancılar Ali Ağa
Figure 14-15. İstanbul. (n.d.), oil on cardboard,
Fountain and Water Distribution. (n.d.), oil on
41x14 cm. Artium Art Gallery Archive-İstanbul
canvas, 46x32 cm. İstanbul
Museum of Painting
and Sculpture
Figure 16. Old Street. 1919,
Figure 17. Rüstem Paşa Mosque. (n.d.),
oil on cardboard, 37.5x27 cm. Artium
watercolor on paper, 40x25 cm. Alif Art,
Art Gallery Archive-İstanbul
2008
Figure 18. Self-portrait. 1932,
Figure 19. Still life, 1898
oil on hardboard, 60x40 cm. Uğurlu, 1991
oil on plywood, 25x40 cm. Alif Art, 2011a