Osman Hamdi Bey
At the Mosque Door (Cami Kapısında), c. 1891
Oil on canvas
82 x 43 inches (208.5 x 109 cm)
Private collection
A total of 17 figures, 16 people and a dog, are skillfully depicted in front of the Yeşil Mosque in Bursa. The painting, which reveals the fine workmanship of the Ottoman architecture and the detail in the decorations, is a document about the Ottoman daily life. It is stated in the painting that Osman Hamdi Bey drew a ladder to add movement to the painting, although there is no ladder in front of the Bursa Green Mosque. More on this painting
Osman Hamdi
In the Harem, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
56 x 116 cm
Erol Kerim Aksoy collection
Two Musician Girls, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
58 x 39 cm
Pera Müzesi, Istanbul, Turkey
Two Musician Girls illustrates young women playing the tambourine and a tambur (lute), traditional Ottoman instruments. They are in a corner room of the Yeşil Camii, (Green Mosque or Mosque of Mehmed I) in Bursa. Osman repeated here the same Islamic identifiers: the rugs, the beautifully painted tiles, wooden workmanship, and the richly decorated interiors. What must be emphasized here is his approach to female identity. Unlike Jean-Léon Gérôme’s Pool in a Harem, Hamdi Bey never put emphasis on sexuality.
Two Musician Girls (1880) is particularly interesting for showing its figures with two traditional Turkish musical instruments. The large stringed instrument is a tambur, a member of the lute family which was plucked, and the large tambourine is a daf. More on this painting
Osman Hamdy Bey
A Lady of Constantinople, c. 1881
Oil on canvas
120 x 60 cm, 47.24 x 23.62 in
Private collection
After the visit of Empress Eugénie to Constantinople in 1869, women's costume in that city changed dramatically. French fashion magazines were widely circulated – even within the harem - and dresses were ordered directly from Paris or commissioned from seamstresses in Pera, in emulation of the styles. As elements of European fashion were selectively adopted and combined with traditional Turkish dress, a hybrid style emerged – one that did not conform to the exotic imaginings of European artists and travellers. More on this painting
Osman Hamdy Bey
The Yellow Dress, c. 1881
Oil on canvas
61 by 40cm., 24 by 15 3/4 in
Private collection
The Yellow Dress is a case in point. While loosely conforming to the 'Orientalist' genre, it counters the expectations of the nineteenth-century western viewer. Women were often portrayed to promulgate Europeans' pre-conceived romantic notions of the East: as overtly kept women or as racy and sultry nudes in exotic-looking harems. By contrast, Hamdy Bey's paintings of women are delicately understated, and set in the modern world. Here, a virtuous young girl regards herself in a looking glass as she gets dressed to go out, her maid in attendance. Other than that she is of the privileged classes and well to do, her identity is unknown. She might even be one of the Sultan's favourites, but if so and if the elegant boudoir is part of the Sultan's palace, it is not obvious.
Hamdy Bey was more interested in capturing the fashions and mores of his day, which he did with painstaking detail and accuracy. The interior in The Yellow Dress is not a romanticised figment of the imagination, but decorated in the French rococo style fashionable in Constantinople by the 1870s, complete with parquet flooring and the latest printed silk upholstery. The dress fashion, too, is revealing about changing tastes among Turkish women at the time. French fashions were beginning to replace traditional Ottoman costumes, although the translucent veil, or yashmak, was still worn in public. Here, the girl in the yellow dress is seen tying hers, her maid holding out in readiness the black kaftan worn over the dress. More on this painting
Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910)
Persian Carpet Dealer on the Street (1888)
Oil on canvas
60 x 122 cm
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin
The "Turkish street scene" shows the captivating ingredients of his art: In front of a niche of a well-known historical well building in Constantinople, around which such trade was carried out, two men offer a tourist couple with a daughter some carpets, while a third stands close behind the woman and she does this seems to advise. The delicate and finely painted picture reveals itself as a suggestive collage, which also served common ideas. While the dealers wear historicizing costumes, the potential buyer with his pith helmet and his unsuspecting gaze appears as a cliché of a traveler to the Orient. Osman Hamdy Bey used objects from his possession that can be found in many of his paintings to depict the antiques that are also on sale, including an imposing vase. More on this painting
Mihrap/Genesis, c. 1901
Oil on canvas
I have no further description, at this time
This work was exhibited for the first time in the same year in Berlin, and later to be presented at the Royal Academy Exhibition in London in 1903.
The large painting depicts a young woman sitting on a “rahle” (a support for reading the Quran), with her back to the mihrap, the niche facing Mecca, the holy place of Islam. The young woman, who is pregnant, wears a yellow dress, whose cut is not medieval, but from the 19th century. Manuscripts and books appear at her feet, including Zend-i-Avesta, the holy book of the Zoroastrians, and a Quran. The artist’s signature appears on one of the books at the young woman’s feet. More on this painting
"For him, the young pregnant lady is a personification of a Turkey (and, by extension, of the Ottoman Empire) that turns its back on the past and looks to the future." Edhem Eldem
The miracle fountain, c. 1904
Oil on canvas
200 x 151 cm
Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin
A bearded man with distinctive features, dressed in a silk robe, reads a handwriting. Standing on a carpet, he leans against a Koran case inlaid with mother-of-pearl in front of a fountain niche. Many facets of the complex figure of Osman Hamdy Bey seem to be reflected in the orientalizing genre image that combines objects from the Islamic art trade, classic Ottoman architecture and oriental-looking costume.
The golden jug refers to the 18th century and calligraphy refers to the founder of a Sufi order, while the Koran shrine comes from the collection of the Topkapı Palace. For the fountain niche from the 16th century, the template can be found in the oldest Ottoman building in Istanbul, in Çinili Köşk from 1472, which was part of the Imperial Museum of Antiquities. More on this painting
Osman Hamdi, orphaned at a very young age was adopted by Kaptan-ı Derya (Grand Admiral) Hüsrev Pasha and eventually rose to the ranks of the ruling class of the Ottoman Empire.
Osman Hamdi went to primary school in the popular Istanbul quarter of Beşiktaş; after which he studied Law, first in Istanbul (1856) and then in Paris (1860). However, he decided to pursue his interest in painting instead, left the Law program, and trained under French orientalist painters Jean-Léon Gérôme and Gustave Boulanger.
The opulent tiled setting of the present work is a secluded corner of the Yesil Cami, or Green Mosque, in Bursa in western Anatolia. Framed by a Mamluk lantern and monumental candlestick, two men face one another, the seated man receiving Koranic instruction from the standing hoja or teacher.
Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of roughly 23 years. These revelations were transcribed by followers in the period following Mohammad's death, and each verse has a particular historical content that does not follow a linear or historical narrative. The Quran assumes that readers are already familiar with some of the major themes found in Biblical scriptures, and it offers commentary or interpretations of some of those events. More on the Quran
Osman Hamdi Bey
The Arms Dealer is a work that depicts himself (as two people) and his son together in clothes of an older era. Osman Hamdi painted himself sitting on a column capital. It is thought that with the column head on which it sits, it refers to the founding of the museum. The hand gesture is interpreted as giving advice to his son. More on the Arms Dealer
Once back in Turkey, he was sent to the Ottoman province of Baghdad as part of the administrative team of Midhat Pasha. In 1871, Osman Hamdi returned to Istanbul, as the vice-director of the Protocol Office of the Palace. During the 1870s, he worked on several assignments in the upper echelons of the Ottoman bureaucracy. He was appointed as the first mayor of Kadıköy in 1875, and stayed in that position for one year.
This portrait significantly reflects a synthesis of Byzantine icons and Ottoman court portraiture.
An important step in his career was his assignment as the director of the Imperial Museum in 1881. He used his position as museum director to develop the museum and rewrite the antiquities laws and to create nationally sponsored archaeological expeditions. Osman Hamdi focused on building relationships with international institutions, notably the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received an honorary degree in 1894. In 1902, he painted the excavation of Nippur as a gift to the University of Pennsylvania Museum. In 1882, he instituted and became director of the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1884, he oversaw the promulgation of a Regulation prohibiting historical artifacts from being smuggled abroad.
When Hilprecht’s book Explorations in Bible Lands appeared in 1903, he selected one of Haynes’s photos of the Nippur excavations as the frontispiece. Hilprecht immediately presented a copy of the book to Osman Hamdi Bey, who in turn employed the frontispiece image as the subject of this monumental painting,
Osman Hamdi Bey
Osman Hamdi went to primary school in the popular Istanbul quarter of Beşiktaş; after which he studied Law, first in Istanbul (1856) and then in Paris (1860). However, he decided to pursue his interest in painting instead, left the Law program, and trained under French orientalist painters Jean-Léon Gérôme and Gustave Boulanger.
OSMAN HAMDY BEY, Ottoman, 1842 - 1910
KORANIC INSTRUCTION/ Reading the Coran, c. 1890
Oil on canvas
80 by 60cm., 31½ by 23½in.
Private collection
The present work contains several subtle details that challenge the noble occupation of Koranic instruction. The preaching imam remarkably still wears his slippers despite the need to remain barefoot inside a mosque. His pupil, his slippers casually discarded in the niche beneath the alcove, appears on the verge of falling asleep. The painting is a manifestation of ideological and societal tension that not only offers European viewers an insight into Ottoman life but also promulgates a new and radical form of visual expression at home. More on this painting
Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910)
Hodja Reading The Qoran, c. 1910
Oil on canvas
Height: 72.5 cm (28.5 in); Width: 53 cm (20.8 in)
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Muslims believe that the Quran was verbally revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel over a period of roughly 23 years. These revelations were transcribed by followers in the period following Mohammad's death, and each verse has a particular historical content that does not follow a linear or historical narrative. The Quran assumes that readers are already familiar with some of the major themes found in Biblical scriptures, and it offers commentary or interpretations of some of those events. More on the Quran
Osman Hamdy Bey
The Scholar, c. 1878
Oil on canvas
Private collection
The setting for the painting is a secluded corner of a madrasa or a mosque. The scholar lies reading a book on a carpeted ledge against a wall of turquoise hexagonal tiles. The niche in the wall is similar to those found in the seventeenth-century Twin Pavilions in the Topkapi palace, while the thirteenth-century Western Iranian candlestick on the left relates closely to an example now in the Victoria & Albert Museum. One of the books in the niche is inscribed Qamus ('Dictionary' in Arabic), possibly referring to al-Firuzabadi's al-Qamus al-Muhit – 'The Great Dictionary'. The carved Kufic inscription to the left of the niche is an invocation to God and reads bismillah wa ma tawfi illa b'illah (Koran, chapter XI (Hud), part of verse 88), but Hamdy Bey takes some playful artistic licence, audaciously adding his own name to the right of the niche. The closely cropped composition suggests that Hamdy Bey may have had recourse to photographs as he did for the later version, a practice favoured by the French academic painters, in particular Jean-Léon Gérôme whom Hamdy had met during his training in Paris. More on this painting
His stay in Paris was also marked by the first ever visit by an Ottoman sultan to Western Europe, when Sultan Abdülaziz was invited to the Exposition Universelle (1867) by Emperor Napoleon III. He also met many of the Young Ottomans in Paris, and even though he was exposed to their liberal ideas, he did not participate in their political activities.
Silah Taciri/ Arms Dealer, c. 1908
Oil on canvas
175 x 130 cm
Eczacıbaşı virtual museum
The Arms Dealer is a work that depicts himself (as two people) and his son together in clothes of an older era. Osman Hamdi painted himself sitting on a column capital. It is thought that with the column head on which it sits, it refers to the founding of the museum. The hand gesture is interpreted as giving advice to his son. More on the Arms Dealer
Once back in Turkey, he was sent to the Ottoman province of Baghdad as part of the administrative team of Midhat Pasha. In 1871, Osman Hamdi returned to Istanbul, as the vice-director of the Protocol Office of the Palace. During the 1870s, he worked on several assignments in the upper echelons of the Ottoman bureaucracy. He was appointed as the first mayor of Kadıköy in 1875, and stayed in that position for one year.
Below are two portraits by Osman Hamdi Bey of his second wife Marie, who later took the name Naile Hanım. The name of his first wife was also Marie, and both of them were French. From his first wife Marie, whom he met in Paris, he had two daughters named Fatma and Hayriye. From his second wife Marie (Naile Hanım), whom he met in Vienna, he had three daughters named Melek, Leyla and Nazlı, and one son named Edhem.
Osman Hamdi Bey
Portrait of woman (His wife Naile Hanim)
Oil on canvas
98 x 68 cm.
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910)
Portrait of Naile Hanım
Oil on canvas
52 x 41 cm
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
This portrait significantly reflects a synthesis of Byzantine icons and Ottoman court portraiture.
An important step in his career was his assignment as the director of the Imperial Museum in 1881. He used his position as museum director to develop the museum and rewrite the antiquities laws and to create nationally sponsored archaeological expeditions. Osman Hamdi focused on building relationships with international institutions, notably the University of Pennsylvania, from which he received an honorary degree in 1894. In 1902, he painted the excavation of Nippur as a gift to the University of Pennsylvania Museum. In 1882, he instituted and became director of the Academy of Fine Arts. In 1884, he oversaw the promulgation of a Regulation prohibiting historical artifacts from being smuggled abroad.
Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910)
Excavation of Nippur
Oil on canvas
Penn Museum
When Hilprecht’s book Explorations in Bible Lands appeared in 1903, he selected one of Haynes’s photos of the Nippur excavations as the frontispiece. Hilprecht immediately presented a copy of the book to Osman Hamdi Bey, who in turn employed the frontispiece image as the subject of this monumental painting,
As an amusing gesture of friendship, Hamdi Bey inserted Hilprecht into the painting, depicting him examining the pottery in the middle distance.
The Excavations at Nippur of 1903. Originally intended for a projected Nippur Gallery at the Penn Museum. When the University balked at displaying the painting, Sallie Crozer Robinson Hilprecht purchased it as a gift for her husband. It finally came to the Penn Museum in 1948, as a bequest of Mrs. Hilprecht’s granddaughter, Elise Robinson Paumgarten. More on Excavation of Nippur
At the Mosque Door
Oil on canvas
Penn Museum
At the Mosque Door was in the Museum Archives since the department was set up in the late 1970s, known to some scholars but not the general public. It was purchased by the Museum in 1895 after being displayed in multiple exhibitions, as a way to incur favor with Hamdi Bey, and obtain a share of the finds from the Museum’s earliest excavations in ancient Nippur, located in present-day Iraq.
Several distinct figures appear in the painting’s foreground, but a closer look supports the consensus that many of these figures are in fact the artist himself! More on this painting
He conducted the first scientific based archaeological researches done by a Turkish team. To lodge these, he started building what is today the Istanbul Archaeology Museum in 1881. The museum officially opened in 1891 under his directorship.
Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910)
Arzuhalci / Public Scribe, c. 1910
Height: 110 cm (43.3 in); Width: 77 cm (30.3 in)
Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Public Scribe may have been part of a campaign to improve education and literacy, particularly among women.
Throughout his professional career as museum and academy director, Osman Hamdi continued to paint in the style of his teachers, Gérôme and Boulanger. Yet, he frequently depicted himself and his family members in these paintings, complicating an assumption of a removed orientalist gaze in his work.
Hamdi's 1906 painting, The Tortoise Trainer (See above), has held the record until 2019 for the most valuable Turkish painting. The painting depicts Hamdi's likeness clad in antiquated clothing, training tortoises in a mosque. This choice of subject matter leads many to see this painting as a commentary on Turkey's conflicted national identity. His Girl Reciting Qur'an (1880) (See above) broke the record by realizing US$7.8 million at a Bonhams auction in September 2019. . More on Osman Hamdi Bey
Osman Hamdi Bey (1842–1910)
The Tortoise Trainer, c. early 20th Century
Oil on canvas
Height: 2,215 mm (87.20 in); Width: 1,200 mm (47.24 in)
Pera Museum, Istanbul
The painting depicts an elderly man in traditional Ottoman religious costume: a long red garment with embroidered hem, belted at the waist, and a Turkish turban. The figure may be a self-portrait of Hamdi himself. The anachronistic costume predates the introduction of the fez and the spread of Western style dress with the Tanzimat reforms in the mid-19th century. He holds a traditional ney flute and bears a nakkare drum on his back, with a drumstick handing to his front. The man's costume and instruments suggests he may be a Dervish.
The scene is set in a dilapidated upper room at the Green Mosque, Bursa, where the man is attempting to "train" the five tortoises at his feet, but they are ignoring him preferring instead to eat the green leaves on the floor. Above a pointed window is the inscription: "Şifa'al-kulûp lika'al Mahbub" ("The healing of the hearts is meeting with the beloved"). More on this painting
Osman Hamdi Bey
Girl Reciting Qur'an, c. 1880
Oil on canvas
Height: 41.1 cm (16.1 in); Width: 51 cm (20 in)
Malaysian Islamic Arts Museum
The Young Girl Reading the Qur'an, displays many of the qualities for which Osman Hamdi became best known. The impeccably rendered dress of the kneeling figure and the decorative background against which she is set, rich in colour and Islamic designs, are virtual signatures of the artist, as is the startling clarity of the picture's highly detailed style. The precision of its surface, however, masks significant ambiguities at its core: The book that the woman has chosen, the direction of her gaze, and even the parting of her lips and the buttons at her neck, all serve to undermine our first impressions of the scene. What begins as a pretty harem picture, in other words, becomes a complicated and multi-referential text which addresses a variety of topical issues within the landscapes of Orientalism, 19th century art history, and aspects of the artist's biography itself. Through its transposition of British, French, and Turkish models, and its manipulation of their themes, Young Woman Reading demonstrates the unique nature of Osman Hamdi's Orientalism, and his artful game. More on this painting
Hamdi's 1906 painting, The Tortoise Trainer (See above), has held the record until 2019 for the most valuable Turkish painting. The painting depicts Hamdi's likeness clad in antiquated clothing, training tortoises in a mosque. This choice of subject matter leads many to see this painting as a commentary on Turkey's conflicted national identity. His Girl Reciting Qur'an (1880) (See above) broke the record by realizing US$7.8 million at a Bonhams auction in September 2019. . More on Osman Hamdi Bey
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