A meeting at the Dutch Consulate

On  October  4, Friday evening,    I was invited to   a meeting  held at the Dutch Consulate General.   The meeting  was a book launch  was the panel.  The event was held on the occasion of  the launch of the latest book  published by  Cemal Bali Akal,  the doyen  of the Spinoza circle  in Turkey.    had been organized. The book was  published by  Zoe Publishing.  The publication details are as follows: Cemal Bali Akal,  Portrait of Eternity:   Spinoza and  17th Century Dutch Painting.

The venue where the meeting was held  is very significant. It is the  Union Church of Istanbul  located in the garden of the Dutch Consulate General in Istanbul.   This church is a chapel.  It was built   quite some time ago  and is open for worship.  Regularly  Sunday services  are held. In the pews where we sat,  Turkish and English  bibles were available for those   attending the service. 

The Consul General  gave an opening  speech.  He gave a. His English made me  think he might have   stayed in the   USA  for a long time.   

Cemal Bali  Hoca  spoke last. He was a bit unwell. An interesting  guest had come from Argentina: Diego Tatian. Tatian is a faculty member at the University of Cordoba. His ancestors  from Kozan, Adana  to those parts  had migrated; as you can see  Tatian's   roots  might even trace back to the Kingdom of Cilicia. He is also the founder of the Cordoba Spinoza Studies Group. Cemal Bali  it is understood that his relationship  with the professor is quite old. The fact that Diego  was invited,  added  a pleasant atmosphere to the meeting. 

At the panel,  on the art  of painting  I also learned some  things: such as installation and light in painting.  

THE CHAPEL IN THE   CONSULATE GENERAL GARDEN

The Union Church Chapel was built in 1667  by the Dutch ambassador  who came  to Istanbul  Justinus  is within the land purchased by Colyer. The title used by the church since 1866 is  as follows:  “The Evangelical Union Church   of Pera”  the congregation  is currently  at this moment  It has 141 members.  As I learned from 

Turan Akıncı's article on the Dutch Embassy Palace,  the palace was built  by architect Giovanni Berbarini  in 1859. When the embassy    moved to Ankara in 1944,   the palace in Istanbul  converted into a consulate general. 

The chapel being in the  Dutch Embassy's     garden served as a   religious sanctuary  in Istanbul against   the Catholic  world.  is related.  Orthodoxy is already Eastern Christianity. Therefore, for Westerners,  from the perspective of   a separate world.  They are in pursuit of reform in religion and  reducing the power of the Papacy  as an authority. 

The chapel does not represent the Pope's authority,  Of those  who value the words  of the apostles,  a small  place of worship. 

(The Chapel  in the consulate  garden) 

THE DUTCH  IN ISTANBUL 

Realizing that it had reached  the limits of its power,  the Ottoman  ruling class began searching for countries in the West  with which it could form alliances against its traditional enemies (the Habsburg monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire),   in its pursuit of  has entered. The Netherlands  and England, for example.  The Netherlands was a confederation at that time. 

17th-century Netherlands,  is similar to England's situation  in the face of  Spain, France, and the Habsburg monarchy. Overseas  trade and the effort to accumulate wealth are the first things that stand out.  Distrust  toward Catholic  institutions  and attempts to create  autonomous structures   from them, as well as initiatives to establish alternative   church congregations, are noteworthy. 

The Dutch's first diplomatic mission  arrival in our country  coincides with this Golden Age.    This is  significant.  Like the Venetians and the French, they also wanted to acquire   a permanent   residence  in Pera,  they found a place for themselves  and over time  they constructed the building  known today as the  Dutch Palace. 

THE ESTABLISHMENT  OF THE DUTCH  EMBASSY 

The Dutch   sent to our country  the first  mission led by Cornelius Haga  had arrived.   In the year 1612.     During the reign of  Sultan Ahmed I  era  this visit coincides with.  To understand the period  in terms of  let us make a few reminders if you wish:   The one who had the Blue Mosque built   and in the Fatih Code of Laws  order  for the world   that permitted   the "fratricide"  abolishing the decree  the "eldest and wisest son"  rule  introducing and dying at a young age  sultan. The Dutch's Ottoman  the Venetian and French ambassadors were disturbed by their arrival in his domain;  due to the possibility of them disrupting the political and   religious status quo in Europe. 

Grand Vizier Halil Pasha,  viewed the Dutch as a potential  counterweight against Spain and  Habsburg Austria.  potential   as an ally  must have seen it, so  acted warmly  toward the delegation, allowing it  to transform into  a permanent embassy.  The issuance of the  “irade-i seniye” (imperial decree)  did everything in their power  for it. In its early period, the mission was primarily concerned with  increasing trade and rescuing Dutch citizens who had fallen into the hands of pirates  and were sold in the slave markets  of Istanbul.  It was involved in this. 

THE NETHERLANDS'   GOLDEN AGE  WHAT IS IT? 

In the fields of thought and art,   the term used to define an era,  the Dutch Golden Age, coincides with an important  process of transformation  that took place in European history. This  transformation  is not merely social,  not economic  at the same time  political and religious  has taken place in the realm of thought. It has demographic,   political, economic, and intellectual  infrastructure.  

At this  point, all of these  developments  triggering  a few  factors to mention  would be accurate:   With the fall of Antwerp to Spain, wealthy  Protestant  merchants moved to Northern Holland  began to  emigrate.   The primary reason was religion.  Simultaneously,  fleeing from the Inquisition,  Sephardic Jews  along with   those from France  the fleeing Protestant Huguenots  also took refuge in a country,  the Netherlands. 

The Dutch  established colonies in North America and the East Indies throughout the 17th century. From the slave trade,  enormous  wealth  was acquired by the merchants. 

It should be noted here that at that time,   thousands of merchant  ships registered to the port of Amsterdam  existed. This is how  the demographic, material, and spiritual infrastructure of the Dutch  Golden Age   can be defined. 

A THINKER IN AMSTERDAM: SPINOZA 

When Rembrandt   completed his painting "The Night Watch",  Baruch Spinoza (1632-1677) was a 10-year-old   child in Amsterdam. Perhaps  he even  passed by   the studio  where the painting was being created. 

While the painters'   paintings depicting daily life captured the tastes  of the Dutch bourgeoisie,  during those same years,  Spinoza, who had grown up  in the Portuguese Jewish community in Amsterdam, was thinking  things different from his community.  God, creation, and  on humans. 

Spinoza   God's  by religions  reward and  punishing  (possessing human characteristics)    a  as an entity  he thought it was designed.  According to him, such a  God could not exist. 

For this  reason,  amidst division and political transformations,   the dominant religion  and thought paradigms   with  came into conflict.  Or rather,   with what he said and  with what he wrote    both  the Jews'  as well as the   reaction of Christians. 

Spinoza's  father was a merchant who was  an administrator of the Amsterdam  Synagogue and the Jewish school. 

 Time, space, and existence are God's   self-manifestation  forms  (adjective)  Spinoza, who thought that it was,  in 1655 by his community  for denying God  and  for  belittling the Torah   was accused. By the Calvinist Church Council  and the Amsterdam Jewish   community   he was  ostracized. He was excommunicated. 

(Samuel Hirszenberg, Spinoza's   expulsion from the  Jewish community, 1907)

While Spinoza  was being ostracized in Amsterdam  due to his ideas, painters such as Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer   captured the colors of life,  using light and shadow  with   masterful  skill.  they were reflecting.  

Starting from 1652  lens grinding  as a trade  he began to   earn his  living. He moved away from Amsterdam. (1661)  He lived in Rijnsburg. He wrote Ethics. Today, the house where he lived is a  is a museum. 

All  of these  phenomena—in my opinion—   were the birth and rise  pangs of the Enlightenment,   which had become   quite evident by the 17th century. 

CONTEXT  SHIFT  IN  PAINTING 

This is also an era in the art of painting  in which a major   explosion  occurred.    Until this period   painting and  sculpture in Europe dealt with    people and events mentioned in the Torah and the Bible. 

From the 17th century  onwards, daily life  was depicted in painters' canvases in the finest   detail   began to  take place. These paintings are, as everyone would  admit, magnificent works of art. The   ordinary, simple  life   on the brushes of the painters  transformed into  magnificent artistic products. 

In the paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer  the  daily life of Dutch  cities  is depicted as if   the scene  were unfolding  right now  is felt.   The Night Watch,  The Anatomy Lesson, Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window  like a woman. 

A PAINTER OF  THE GOLDEN AGE: JOHANNES VERMEER 

Johannes, who lived   his life in Delft  Vermeer (1632-1675) is the painter of the  Mona Lisa of the North,   as it is known,  (Girl with a Pearl Earring)  painting. Vermeer's  water-pouring,  milk-pouring,  letter-reading, harpsichord  next to  sitting  women  are present  in his paintings. 

(A Vermeer painting: The Lacemaker)

Vermeer,   in his short 43-year life, his livelihood  lived through hardships. When he took his own life in a fit of madness,  he left behind  11 children,   a widow,  and quite a lot of debt.   It would only be understood later that he was one of the greatest painters  of the 17th century.  

IN THE GARDEN  COCKTAIL 

After the meeting  in the consulate's backyard  a reception was held.  Presumably with the   support of the Consulate. In terms of  service and content,   an excellent note  a cocktail party I hosted  was. The garden's  lighting  was also beautiful.  With a catering firm that is a master of taste  they worked with,  circulated  tiny presentations  it was  evident.   It had been  a while since I had the  opportunity  to attend such an event. It was  a good thing.  

FROM THE NIGHT  REMAINING 

Throughout the meeting,  I saw the light reflected  from the lenses polished in Spinoza’s workshop  shining upon the faces of Vermeer’s women.  This light I noticed  in the Union Chapel was the light of eternity  of Spinoza’s God.