Geç Dönem Osmanlı Resim Sanatında Kadın İmgesinin Temsili

Abstract

The discussions about the role and place of women within the society were initiated with the modernization efforts after the Tanzimat reform in the 19th century. During the Westernization period, male-dominated intellectual class started to attach more importance to the visibility and existence of women within the society. However, dualities and contradictions observed in the attitudes towards the gender issues of this intellectual class, which is not only reformist but also conservative at the same time. For this fundamental mentality problem, women’s rights were disregarded and instead their duties and responsibilities come to the fore within this era.Within the Ottoman painting style of the 19th century, which has been influenced by the West, artists used woman figure frequently in their works, reflecting the perspective of their time towards women. Starting with the Constitutional Monarchy, the subtle changes in the way the women dressed in European style, their new lifestyle and their relations with the public sphere can be observed from the works of Ottoman artists. Since they were in contact with Paris, which was known to be the world’s art center, they placed the woman figure in their paintings into the spaces of femininity, that were in the repertory of subject matter of French Impressionists.