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Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Jan 18 2014
Depicting Ottoman fashion apparel
Niki GAMM
Two running attendants, Grand Vizier, Superintendent of the Ushers,
Chief of the halberdier corps painted by Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a.
Ottoman historiography has a history of illustrating books, not the
chronicles but rather volumes that were dedicated to special
occasions, such as weddings and circumcision festivities. While
costumes were portrayed with some accuracy, the idea of just depicting
the different types of clothing worn by Ottoman officials does not
seem to have occurred to anyone, perhaps because Islamic tradition
holds the human figure should not be portrayed. Thanks largely to the
work of Ottoman Armenian interpreter and later Swedish ambassador,
Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson (1740`1807), we have striking portraits of
individuals and their clothing. He produced a book that covered the
aspects of the Ottoman Empire, which was published in Paris in 1784.
The `Tableau Général de l'Empire Othoman' contained many engravings
that shed light on Ottoman life at the end of the eighteenth century;
however, d'Ohsson had a great deal of difficulty in obtaining pictures
that could be engraved and printed, often having to arrange for
artists in Istanbul to work secretly. His work was published in two
editions: one extremely large and expensive and another of smaller
size and less expensive. The pictures that were reproduced were also
to be found translated into English and German, leading to their
popularity throughout Europe. These may have been the source of
inspiration for two later artists ` Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a and Jean
Brindesi.
A leader of the western style
Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a (1808-1865) is considered one of the leaders of the
western style of painting in Turkey. It is hard to think of him as an
artist because he spent his whole working life in the Ottoman army. He
was a mere six months old when Mahmud II ascended to the throne and
slowly instituted westernizing reforms in the Ottoman Empire. His
father was a kapı cuhadar (door warden). He was only 14 when he began
to work in a state office related to land. After four years there he
requested a transfer to a military body founded by Mahmud II where he
was a secretary. With the rank of private, barely four months later he
attained sergeant major. He never looked back as he moved up the ranks
to reach that of field marshal for Arabia. He also served as governor
of Damascus, Harput, Erzurum, Silistre and Edirne before he died in
1865. Although he was in charge of the Ottoman gendarmerie in 1851 and
later in 1853 in Istanbul, it is hard to see how he could find the
time to paint and found a museum.
Although Arif PaÅ?a was thoroughly committed to the army, he had a deep
and abiding interest in Turkish culture and history. He spent some
forty years studying Turkish historical sources as he moved up through
the ranks. Somewhere along the way, he developed a talent for drawing
and produced a series of pictures detailing the clothes Ottoman state
officials wore. He prepared these pictures under the name `Mecmua-i
Tesavir-i Osmaniyye' (The Collection of Ottoman Pictures). Although
his work was supposed to come out in 12 volumes, only one volume was
actually published in French in Paris in 1863 and in Turkish the same
year. The other 11 volumes have been lost. The published volume is
considered to be `the first illustrated book in Turkey.' Some of the
paintings appeared in the Tasvir-i Efkar newspaper as a series at the
same time.
What is amazing is the praise heaped onto Arif PaÅ?a for his portraits,
the harmony of their colors and tones, the maturity of attitude and
delicate detail, the artist's control over his pen and watercolors.
The clothing reflects the time when the Janissaries were still on the
scene (before 1826 when the corps was disbanded). While one might be
inclined to think only the military wore specific clothing, among the
Ottoman's tradition, clothing laws determined what state officials
wore. In addition to the drawings of the various official costumes in
use, Arif PaÅ?a wanted to establish a museum so everyone would have a
chance to see them. He personally had mannequins made in Vienna and a
building in Sultan Ahmed was set aside for their display as the
Janissary Clothing Museum, a museum that predates the Istanbul
Archaeological Museums by decades. Eventually this display was moved
to the Military Museum at Hagia Irini during the Second Constitutional
Period, but they were not kept up.
Jean Brindesi
What makes one question the value of Arif PaÅ?a's work is that he was
not the first artist in Turkey to draw pictures of official clothing.
A young Italian artist, Giovanni Jean Brindesi, who was born in 1826
(d. 1888), was in Istanbul by the 1850s. There is scant evidence for
his life, although it is known he lived in Galatasaray on YeniçarÅ?ı
Street. His first book was published in Paris in 1855 and was entitled
`Elvicei Atika. Les Anciens Costumes. Musée des costumes turcs de
Constantinople' (Ancient Clothes. Istanbul Turkish Clothing Museum).
Brindesi is known to have used the costumes on the mannequins at the
so-called Janissary Museum for his pictures, that is, the museum that
Arif PaÅ?a had been instrumental in getting built. We can at least
deduce the museum was established prior to 1855, as there is little
information about it. [A review of it appeared in the New York Times
in the 1860s.].
Brindesi worked in both water color and oils. He depicted the various
costumes that belonged to the officials of the Mahmud II period just
as Arif PaÅ?a was to do in his book eight years later. In the Italian's
book are the grand vizier, the chief of military judges, Janissary
officers, the Å?eyh-ül-islam, the black eunuchs, as well as sailors,
bombardiers and privates. These are the same subjects that Arif PaÅ?a
took up; it may be that the similarity between his work and that of
Brindesi was the reason why only one volume of Arif PaÅ?a's drawings
was ever published. It is almost impossible to tell the difference
between Arif PaÅ?a's paintings and those of Brindesi.
The Italian artist produced a second book, `Souvenir de
Constantinople' in the 1860s in which he portrayed daily life in the
city, including women, cemeteries, entertainment and the like. This
volume, more than his first, placed him among the orientalist painters
who flooded the European markets with depictions, often quite
fanciful, of life in the Middle East.
January/18/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/depicting-ottoman-fashion-apparel.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61195&NewsCatID=438
Jan 18 2014
Depicting Ottoman fashion apparel
Niki GAMM
Two running attendants, Grand Vizier, Superintendent of the Ushers,
Chief of the halberdier corps painted by Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a.
Ottoman historiography has a history of illustrating books, not the
chronicles but rather volumes that were dedicated to special
occasions, such as weddings and circumcision festivities. While
costumes were portrayed with some accuracy, the idea of just depicting
the different types of clothing worn by Ottoman officials does not
seem to have occurred to anyone, perhaps because Islamic tradition
holds the human figure should not be portrayed. Thanks largely to the
work of Ottoman Armenian interpreter and later Swedish ambassador,
Ignatius Mouradgea d'Ohsson (1740`1807), we have striking portraits of
individuals and their clothing. He produced a book that covered the
aspects of the Ottoman Empire, which was published in Paris in 1784.
The `Tableau Général de l'Empire Othoman' contained many engravings
that shed light on Ottoman life at the end of the eighteenth century;
however, d'Ohsson had a great deal of difficulty in obtaining pictures
that could be engraved and printed, often having to arrange for
artists in Istanbul to work secretly. His work was published in two
editions: one extremely large and expensive and another of smaller
size and less expensive. The pictures that were reproduced were also
to be found translated into English and German, leading to their
popularity throughout Europe. These may have been the source of
inspiration for two later artists ` Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a and Jean
Brindesi.
A leader of the western style
Arif Mehmed PaÅ?a (1808-1865) is considered one of the leaders of the
western style of painting in Turkey. It is hard to think of him as an
artist because he spent his whole working life in the Ottoman army. He
was a mere six months old when Mahmud II ascended to the throne and
slowly instituted westernizing reforms in the Ottoman Empire. His
father was a kapı cuhadar (door warden). He was only 14 when he began
to work in a state office related to land. After four years there he
requested a transfer to a military body founded by Mahmud II where he
was a secretary. With the rank of private, barely four months later he
attained sergeant major. He never looked back as he moved up the ranks
to reach that of field marshal for Arabia. He also served as governor
of Damascus, Harput, Erzurum, Silistre and Edirne before he died in
1865. Although he was in charge of the Ottoman gendarmerie in 1851 and
later in 1853 in Istanbul, it is hard to see how he could find the
time to paint and found a museum.
Although Arif PaÅ?a was thoroughly committed to the army, he had a deep
and abiding interest in Turkish culture and history. He spent some
forty years studying Turkish historical sources as he moved up through
the ranks. Somewhere along the way, he developed a talent for drawing
and produced a series of pictures detailing the clothes Ottoman state
officials wore. He prepared these pictures under the name `Mecmua-i
Tesavir-i Osmaniyye' (The Collection of Ottoman Pictures). Although
his work was supposed to come out in 12 volumes, only one volume was
actually published in French in Paris in 1863 and in Turkish the same
year. The other 11 volumes have been lost. The published volume is
considered to be `the first illustrated book in Turkey.' Some of the
paintings appeared in the Tasvir-i Efkar newspaper as a series at the
same time.
What is amazing is the praise heaped onto Arif PaÅ?a for his portraits,
the harmony of their colors and tones, the maturity of attitude and
delicate detail, the artist's control over his pen and watercolors.
The clothing reflects the time when the Janissaries were still on the
scene (before 1826 when the corps was disbanded). While one might be
inclined to think only the military wore specific clothing, among the
Ottoman's tradition, clothing laws determined what state officials
wore. In addition to the drawings of the various official costumes in
use, Arif PaÅ?a wanted to establish a museum so everyone would have a
chance to see them. He personally had mannequins made in Vienna and a
building in Sultan Ahmed was set aside for their display as the
Janissary Clothing Museum, a museum that predates the Istanbul
Archaeological Museums by decades. Eventually this display was moved
to the Military Museum at Hagia Irini during the Second Constitutional
Period, but they were not kept up.
Jean Brindesi
What makes one question the value of Arif PaÅ?a's work is that he was
not the first artist in Turkey to draw pictures of official clothing.
A young Italian artist, Giovanni Jean Brindesi, who was born in 1826
(d. 1888), was in Istanbul by the 1850s. There is scant evidence for
his life, although it is known he lived in Galatasaray on YeniçarÅ?ı
Street. His first book was published in Paris in 1855 and was entitled
`Elvicei Atika. Les Anciens Costumes. Musée des costumes turcs de
Constantinople' (Ancient Clothes. Istanbul Turkish Clothing Museum).
Brindesi is known to have used the costumes on the mannequins at the
so-called Janissary Museum for his pictures, that is, the museum that
Arif PaÅ?a had been instrumental in getting built. We can at least
deduce the museum was established prior to 1855, as there is little
information about it. [A review of it appeared in the New York Times
in the 1860s.].
Brindesi worked in both water color and oils. He depicted the various
costumes that belonged to the officials of the Mahmud II period just
as Arif PaÅ?a was to do in his book eight years later. In the Italian's
book are the grand vizier, the chief of military judges, Janissary
officers, the Å?eyh-ül-islam, the black eunuchs, as well as sailors,
bombardiers and privates. These are the same subjects that Arif PaÅ?a
took up; it may be that the similarity between his work and that of
Brindesi was the reason why only one volume of Arif PaÅ?a's drawings
was ever published. It is almost impossible to tell the difference
between Arif PaÅ?a's paintings and those of Brindesi.
The Italian artist produced a second book, `Souvenir de
Constantinople' in the 1860s in which he portrayed daily life in the
city, including women, cemeteries, entertainment and the like. This
volume, more than his first, placed him among the orientalist painters
who flooded the European markets with depictions, often quite
fanciful, of life in the Middle East.
January/18/2014
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/depicting-ottoman-fashion-apparel.aspx?pageID=238&nID=61195&NewsCatID=438