When we first studied Orientalism, we immediately loved the work of Osman Hamdi Bey, the first Islamic master of Western Orientalist painting.
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| Osman Hamdi Bey, portrait photograph |
Born to the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, Ibrahim Edhem Pasha, he studied law in Istanbul and then in Paris. But during his nine years in Paris, Osman Hamdi left his law studies to pursue art under the masters Jean-Leon Gerome and Gustave Boulanger.
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| Mihrab (1901) |
Even after leaving law school for art, Osman Hamdi was a gifted administrator. He was the director of the Imperial Museum in Istanbul and the founder of the current Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. He was also an avid archeologist and helped rewrite laws to protect historical artefacts from being smuggled abroad and sold to European museums.
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| Osman Hamdi Bey excavating at the royal tomb site on Mount Nemrut |
Osman Hamdi painted the details of his daily life, family and home culture. His paintings have a realism and intimacy that contrasts with the idealised fantasy of Western Orientalism.
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| Young Emir Studying (1878) |
The women in his paintings are fascinating characters: girls studying the Qur'an or playing music, visiting holy shrines or simply walking about the town together.
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| Ladies Taking a Walk (1887) |
Hamdi Bey's models were often friends or family. His subjects are not idealised, but natural and well-observed. They look like they are at home.
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| Two Musician Girls (1880) |
Your favourite artists can reveal a lot about your own character. On wonder | wander | world we're especially drawn to those who straddle cultures: travellers, diplomats, cultural ambassadors. Osman Hamdi Bey was all of these things: an astonishing figure who helped build understanding between East and West.
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