Works by Osman Hamdi Bey meet art lovers at The Met and Pera Museum

The 'Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy' exhibition, presented to visitors by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York, which houses one of the world's most comprehensive art collections, also features a section dedicated to the works of Osman Hamdi Bey, a pioneering figure in Turkish art history. The works of Osman Hamdi Bey, who is known not only for his painting but also for his contributions to archaeology, museology, and art education, are presented within the exhibition's narrative, which explores how the image of the "East" was shaped in art and culture during the 19th century.

A look at Orientalism from different fields of production

The exhibition, which also includes works by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Eugène Delacroix, Jean-Léon Gérôme, John Singer Sargent, and many others, brings together approximately 180 pieces. In addition to paintings, drawings, and photographs, the selection—consisting of books, architectural models, clothing, textiles, ceramics, glass, and metal works—focuses on the traces left by Orientalism not only in painting but also in various other fields of production.

Seven works by Osman Hamdi Bey at The Met

In the section of the exhibition dedicated to Osman Hamdi Bey, there are seven oil paintings created by the artist between 1879 and 1903. The selection includes two separate works titled 'At the Mosque Door' dated 1879 and 1891, as well as 'Excavation of the Temple of Nippur' (1903), 'Quran Recital', 'Dervish at the Tomb of a Child', 'Girl Reading the Quran', and 'The Carpet Merchant'. Additionally, the book titled 'Popular Costumes of Turkey in 1873' (Les costumes populaires de la Turquie en 1873: Ouvrage publié sous le patronage de la Commission impériale ottomane pour l'Exposition universelle de Vienne), which the artist prepared with Marie de Launay to showcase the cultural richness of the Ottoman Empire at the 1873 Vienna Exhibition, is also on display as part of the exhibition. Among the oil paintings in the exhibition, 'At the Mosque Door' (1891) and 'Excavation of the Temple of Nippur' (1903) were previously presented to the public at the exhibition titled 'Osman Hamdi Bey and the Americans: Archaeology | Diplomacy | Art', organized by the Pera Museum between October 15, 2011, and January 8, 2012.

Osman Hamdi Bey’s masterpieces are at the Pera Museum

Osman Hamdi Bey’s significant works, including 'The Tortoise Trainer' and 'Two Musician Girls', continue to welcome visitors in Istanbul at the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum. The Osman Hamdi Bey exhibition, prepared from the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Orientalist Painting Collection, brings together the artist's figurative compositions, portraits, and landscapes produced during different periods.

The works exhibited at the Pera Museum offer an opportunity to closely examine the unique painting world that Osman Hamdi Bey created by utilizing architectural details, historical objects, clothing, and photographs.

His portraits of family members and landscapes of Gebze and Eskihisar make visible the works in which the artist established a more personal and free narrative, while the exhibition addresses Osman Hamdi Bey's place and importance in the art world along with his multifaceted role.

The Pera Museum can be visited from Tuesday to Saturday between 10:00 and 19:00, and on Sundays between 12:00 and 18:00. All visitors can enter for free on Fridays between 18:00 and 22:00 as part of "Long Friday," and all students can visit the museum for free on Wednesdays as part of "Young Wednesday."

News Source: 12punto