A Case of Westernization in Turkish Painting

Abstract

With the effects of westernization movements, Western painting style had been adopted instead of traditional painting style in Ottoman period. At the end of this long-term change, traditional painting gave place to western style painting which also bearing traditional influences. Exact western style paintings had been done by Turkish painters who had been educated in Europe since the end of 19th century. The generation of 1914 consists of the artists, who were sent to Europe to get art training but then returned to home due to outbreak of World War I in 1914. By discussing new subjects and applying new techniques, the artists of this generation became a pioneer of modernization and westernization in art. In this sense, the generation of 1914 is an important milestone in Turkish painting, in terms of creation of modern Turkish painting style. This generation, both as a teacher and as a pioneer, made great contributions to the first generation of painters of the Turkish Republic in gaining identity. Modern Turkish Painting Art appreciates this generation in order to provide these contributions. This study discusses a case of westernization in Turkish painting and the generation of 1914.