reading or making music. what s really attractive is this idea that here is someone from turkey who s engaging with this quite problematic tradition of orientalism and somehow, what? he s subtly transforming it, he s he s reclaiming it? yes, we can say that. he was painting the orient within the orient. whether you think that hamdi in the tortoise trainer was not so covertly criticising ottoman power, he was, at least, i believe, still operating within the parameters of western orientalism, while, if not subtly resisting or subverting them, then at least raising a wry eyebrow. but of course, orientalism, in the hands of western artists during the 19th century, wasn t just about politics and power. it was also about sex. to find out how the west viewed
yes. yes, exactly. can you just tell me a bit more about the artist, because he s a really important figure here in turkey? yes, he was important because he did lots of things in arts and culture. he was a museologist and he was the head of the first art school. he was an archaeologist and he wanted to become a painter. i guess the big picture idea is that he actually travels to paris and he encounters painting there including, of course, orientalist painting by european artists, which inspires him. and when he returns to turkey, he starts to make his own version of orientalism. yes, we can say that even when he was in paris, people saw him as an oriental figure. so he was the best man to paint these subjects. so his calling card, if you like, was, if you want orientalist pictures, well, i m an oriental man. i m the guy to do it. yes. let s talk about the actual picture itself. what s going on? there s this figure associated with music who s really contemplating a group of tortoise
the way it appears, is using a visual language which is very western. but the spirit that animates the picture, that s something different, something more authentic, if you like. i think it s a great fusion between western painting and the concept of orientalism. he knows the textile. he knows the architecture. there s this rich heritage there, and he just puts them together in a really fine way. it inspires me a lot. i m keen to see some of ardan s work to discover how she put some of that inspiration to use. but first, she wants to give me a quick tour of another museum nearby to show me the kind of historical islamic artefacts that once inspired the orientalists, including osman hamdi. the museum of turkish
the elite taste of the time. i mean, ok, cosplay may be not quite the art historically appropriate term, but there s a sort of sense of dressing up that clearly, his clients, they wanted that. yeah, exactly. the beginnings of all of that fantastical side, if you like, of orientalism. i feel there s glimmerings of that here. so fundamentally, orientalism is about the west s imagined vision of the east, but the pera is also home to work by a fascinating artist, long considered a turkish orientalist osman hamdi bey. his masterpiece is the tortoise trainer. but before we look at it, baris wants to show me something that brings the world depicted within the painting to life. so what have you got here? this is a vr headset. so i m becoming osman hamdi bey for the day? kind of. you visit his studio. just put it on. carefully put it on like that. and here are my hands.
but the spirit that animates the picture, that s something different, something more authentic, if you like. i think it s a great fusion between western painting and the concept of orientalism. he knows the textile. he knows the architecture. there s this rich heritage there, and he just puts them together in a really fine way. it inspires me a lot. i m keen to see some of ardan s work to discover how she put some of that inspiration to use. but first, she wants to give me a quick tour of another museum nearby to show me the kind of historical islamic artefacts that once inspired the orientalists, including osman hamdi. the museum of turkish and islamic arts, housed in a 16th century palace a stone s throw from the famous blue mosque, was founded in 1914, thanks in part to who else? osman hamdi. today, it boasts the richest