L'Art Ottoman: Les Peintres de Turquie - Adolphe Thalasso (1920)

Osman Hamdi Bey, Fausto Zonaro, Halil Paşa... these are only three of the most prominent names that come to mind whenever the subject of Orientalist painters and pioneers of the art of painting in Turkey comes up. But how much do we really know about them? And how much do we really know about the history of painting in Turkey? The answers to these questions can be found in a book that was written around a century ago by an artist who befriended the most prominent painters of Turkey at the turn of the 20th century.

 

This book, an account of the early years of Turkish painting and painters penned in the first decade of the 20th century by French writer Adolphe Thalasso, was recently published by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s culture enterprise Kültür A.Ş. and has recently hit the book shelves. The main theme dominating the book, titled “L’Art Ottoman -- Les Peintres de Turquie” (Ottoman Art, The Painters of Turkey) is the pioneers of Turkish painting and their influence on the art of painting in Turkey. The book, originally written in French by Thalasso, was edited by Ömer Faruk Şerifoğlu. “L’Art Ottoman” is considered the first source in print on Turkish painting and the starting point of “art criticism” in the country. The book, published in both Turkish and English, was translated into Turkish by Orçun Türkay and into English by Öykü Terzioğlu. Thalasso’s lost biography, on the other hand, was penned by Şerifoğlu.

 

Thalasso sheds a different light in his book on the artistic adventures of Osman Hamdi Bey, Fausto Zonaro, Halil Paşa, Salvator Valeri, Joseph Warnia-Zarzecki, Leonardo de Mango and Pietro Bello and provides a concise summary of the history of painting in Turkey and the development of this branch of art. “L’Art Ottoman” also provides an interesting section on the inauguration of İstanbul’s first painting galleries. The book gives readers the impression that they are strolling around an exhibition staged by the prominent artists of the era. 

 

Şerifoğlu recalled in an interview with Today’s Zaman that Thalasso penned almost all of his books in French. “Among them, the most noteworthy are ‘Les Premiers Salons de Peinture de Constantinople (The First Painting Galleries of İstanbul)’ written in 1906, ‘Der-i Seadet ou Stamboul: Porte du Bonheur (Der-i Saadet or İstanbul: Door of Happiness)’ written in 1908 and ‘L’Art Ottoman (Ottoman Art)’ written in 1910-1911,” he said.

 

Şerifoğlu stressed “L’Art Ottoman” has always been on the agenda and attracted attention since the very first day it was published. “’Les Premiers Salons d’İstanbul’ provides comprehensive information about the first painting exhibitions staged in İstanbul between the years 1901 and 1902,” he said. He also noted that while editing “L’Art Ottoman -- Les Peintres de Turquie” he had benefited from catalogues of exhibitions staged by Fausto Zonaro and Leonardo de Mango. “I also profited from the family archives of Erol Makzume and Zonaro,” he added.

 

Adolphe Thalasso: a stranger to both sides

 

A Levantine of Venetian origin born in İstanbul around 1855-57, Thalasso had a life of voyages between İstanbul and Paris in the second half of the 19th century and in the first years of the 20th century. He first came into prominence with his oeuvres on Ottoman art life and published books and articles on painting, music and theater in the Ottoman Empire. Though not much is known about his lost biography, his research on Ottoman art of painting and theater are considered a fundamental source for further research in these fields.