Ali Cemal Benim

Who was Ali Cemal Ben’im? (1881-1939)

His father was the merchant Emin Bey. He started primary school in Beirut, then moved to Istanbul with his family and continued his education there. After secondary school, he entered the Naval Academy and graduated in 1901 with the rank of lieutenant.

At the Naval Academy, his talent for painting and his ability to create beautiful paintings were noted. He continued his education at the School of Fine Arts and graduated from there. He was among the first famous painting students of the School of Fine Arts during the era of Osman Hamdi Bey. His first military assignment was as a painting teacher at the Naval Academy. In addition to this, he also taught painting at other military and civilian schools. His works after his academy education show historical and documentary characteristics.

He was promoted to captain in 1904. He participated in the Balkan Wars. He retired from the military in 1913 with the rank of Captain. During World War I, he was assigned by Enver Pasha to the Şişli Painting Workshop, where he, along with other painters, was tasked with creating war and heroism paintings.

Here, he worked with his friends Hikmet Onat, Mehmet Ruhi Arel, and Ali Sami Boyar, all graduates of the Naval Academy. His sea-themed works were very successful, earning him fame as a marine painter. He worked in the genres of landscape, still life, and portrait painting. He created many works using watercolor and oil paint techniques. In 1918, he participated in exhibitions in Vienna and Berlin with his works, receiving great acclaim. He trained many students at the Naval Academy and other schools where he taught painting.

The influence of Impressionism is clearly visible in his painting “A Little Water/Turkish Soldier Helping a Wounded Enemy Soldier”. In this painting, created in his Şişli Studio, the artist explores the openness of the Turkish artist to global changes, in line with the aims of the Vienna Exhibition, while also drawing attention to the emotional and humane aspects of war. He was considered the star of the studio, producing the most works. Other works included in the Vienna Exhibition are “In Dobruja/From the War of Independence,” “Wounded Soldier,” “Turkish Cavalryman,” “Forbidden,” “From Maydos,” “Horseman by the Trough,” and “Soldier Reading a Letter in the Trench.” The influence of Impressionism is also visible in these paintings. After retiring, he initially earned a living by creating murals and posters, and later entered the world of journalism. He first worked for the magazine “Âlem,” drawing its cover illustrations and cartoons. Later, he worked for the newspapers “Tasvir-i Efkâr,” “Harp Mecmuası,” and “İleri.” He also worked as an illustrator for the newspapers “Tercüman-i Hakikat” and “Akşam”. He also worked for the magazines “Resimli Gazete” and “Resimli Ay,” as well as humor newspapers such as “Nasrettin Hoca” and “Karagöz.” While working for the newspaper “Yenigün,” he moved to “Cumhuriyet” and served as an illustrator there between 1923 and 1932. He was the first newspaper illustrator in Turkish journalism to draw representative illustrations and heroic sketches.