The collection, whose foundations were laid in the 1970s, has expanded over the years and is now presented in a more comprehensive setting.
Spanish from the late Ottoman Empire to the early years of the Republic, the exhibition not only presents a chronology of paintings but also makes the visual world of the period visible through photographs, postcards, and archival documents. Thus, the collection addresses art history not only as an aesthetic transformation but also within a cultural and social context.
The exhibition constructs a narrative that extends from the 19th-century Ottoman painting tradition to the formation process of modern Turkish painting. The beginnings of art education in military schools, the influence of the palace circles on art, and the development of academic art understanding are among the key milestones in this narrative.
This section explores the relationship between observation, nature, and representation in Ottoman painting through the works of artists such as Osman Hamdi Bey, Şeker Ahmed Paşa, Süleyman Seyyid, Halil Paşa, Hüseyin Zekai Paşa, and Hoca Ali Rıza.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the art scene was undergoing a radical transformation. Relations with Europe, new exhibition practices, and the diversification of generations of artists were among the defining elements of this transformation.
During this period, artists such as İbrahim Çallı, Hikmet Onat, Avni Lifij, Nazmi Ziya Güran, and Mihri Müşfik stood out with their productions that reinterpreted Western-influenced approaches, primarily Impressionism, within a local context.
The following sections of the collection focus on the more experimental and individual orientations of modern Turkish painting. Through artists such as Fikret Mualla, Hale Asaf, Nurullah Berk, Nuri İyem, and Selim Turan, the exhibition highlights expressionism, cubism, and the exploration of local modernism.
This section demonstrates that Turkish painting was not solely shaped by Western influence; It also demonstrates that it has established a unique language through its own internal dynamics.
The exhibition is not limited to the Sakıp Sabancı Museum collection. It offers an expanded framework with works borrowed from the museum's Emirgan Archive and Avni Lifij Archive, as well as from various institutional and private collections. This allows fragmented narratives about Turkish art history to intersect in the same space.
The Unseen Aspects of Museology
One of the striking aspects of the collection presentation is that it makes the background of museology practice visible. In the section dedicated to restoration, research, and conservation processes, the scientific studies conducted by the museum are shared with the viewer. This approach reminds us that a work is not merely an exhibited object, but a structure requiring continuous care and knowledge production.
The renewed Painting Collection of the Sakıp Sabancı Museum addresses art history from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic not in a linear narrative, but in a layered and relational structure. In this way, the exhibition offers a platform not only to look at the past, but also to consider how painting was established in Turkey and how it continues to change.
Source: https://sanatatak.com/modern_%C3%A7a%C4%9Fda%C5%9F/sakip-sabanci-muzesi-resim-koleksiyonu-yenilendi/