Şeker Ahmet Paşa - Turkish Painting Association

Who is Şeker Ahmet Pasha?

Ahmet Ali Pasha was born in Üsküdar in 1841 and died in 1907. His father is Ali Efendi. He started a school in Üsküdar at the age of five, and after this first education period, which lasted nine years, he entered the School of Medicine by examination.

Şeker Ahmet Ali Pasha, who entered the Medical School in 1855 and transferred to the Military Academy in 1856, graduated as a second lieutenant in 1859. Due to his success in painting, he was appointed as the assistant art teacher of the school when he was only 18 years old.

In 1864, during the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz, he was sent to Mekteb-i Osmanî in Paris. Şeker Ahmed Pasha, who lived in Paris between 1864 and 1871, studied with Gustave Boulanger and, after passing the exam at the École des Beaux-Arts, studied with Jean Leon-Gérôme.

The charcoal portrait of Sultan Abdülaziz, exhibited in the fine arts section of the Ottoman Pavilion during the 1867 International Paris Exhibition, was also seen and appreciated by the Sultan.
The young artist, whose works he exhibited in the art salons opened in Paris in 1869 and 1870, were appreciated, was accepted as completing his education there, and as a reward, it was deemed appropriate for him to work in Rome for three months.

After returning home in 1871, he started working as an art teacher at the Mekteb-i Tıbbiye with the rank of captain. Bayezid worked as a teacher at Zeyrek Kapudan İbrahim Pasha Junior High School and Sultanahmed Industrial School. On April 27, 1873 (exhibition dates are given differently in sources), he opened the first Turkish Painting Exhibition with participation in this school.

As a result of his efforts, his rank was raised to senior captain and he was made aide-de-camp to Sultan Abdülaziz. Ahmet Ali Pasha's entry into the palace also enabled the purchase of works from Europe's well-known painters.

He made great efforts to establish the School of Fine Arts. He opened the second exhibition in the Darulfünun building in Çemberlitaş on July 1, 1875 (exhibition dates are given differently in sources). He held another large exhibition at the Petit Champs Municipal Theater in 1877. He participated in the second Elifba (Club l'ABC) Exhibition opened in 1881. He rose to the rank of Mirliva (Brigadier General) in 1884, and Ferik (Major General) in 1890. In 1895, he was appointed to the rank of Foreign Guests of the Palace (Müsafirîn-i Ecnebbiye) and continued this duty until his death.

After his personal exhibitions in Pera Meşrutiyet Street in 1897, in Magasin de Congsigation in 1898, and in Tokatlıyan Passage in 1900, he served in the jury of Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi. He participated in the First and Second Istanbul Salons of 1901 and 1902, and in the exhibition opened in an apartment building on Postacılar Street in 1905.
48 of the 60 decorations and medals he received for his duties were given by foreign countries. Although he worked in the workshops of Orientalist artists such as Boulanger and Gérôme, who adopted the neo-classical style, during his stay in Paris, he was interested in the Barbizon School artists who were active between approximately 1830 and 1870, and even painted a painting called "A Corner from Fontainebleau".