A New Element in Interior Decoration in 18th and 19th Century Ottoman Mansions: Istanbul Panoramas of Kalemişi as Wall Paintings

Abstract

With the start of the Period of Westernization in Ottoman architecture at the beginning of the 18th century, not only palaces and shoreside residences of the sultans, but also kiosks (köşk), mansions (konak), summer pavilions (kasır), and other civil structures such as waterfront residences (yalı) came under the influence of European styles in interior decoration. A significant movement in civil architecture began in this period and it was first the Baroque, Rocaille and Empire styles that made their imprint on Ottoman structures, followed subsequently by other Western trends. A new element that appeared in the program of westernization in architecture that was applied to palaces, shoreside residences of the sultan, kiosks, pavilions and yalı’s was kalemişi wall paintings. The subjects of this decorative artwork, most of which was created by foreign architects, were landscapes and urban panoramas rather than geometric or floral decorations. The city panoramas mostly depicted Istanbul, the capital of both Anatolia and the Balkans. The aim of this article is to introduce examples of structures of Ottoman residential architecture that began, as from the second half of the 18th century, to boast of kalemişi wall paintings and to demonstrate how those depicting urban panoramas were primarily devoted to Istanbul and embodied a reflection of the influence these paintings had on the westernization movement.