For our 424th art meeting, we visit the Bozlu Art Mongeri Building, where all the works of Şevket Dağ (1875-1944), a prominent figure in the history of Ottoman and Early Republican art, are exhibited collectively for the first time in Istanbul. The exhibition brings together 65 works by Dağ, who is especially known for his work on interiors, various objects belonging to him, archival documents and photographs.
Born in 1875, Şevket Dağ was one of the first Turkish students at the Sanayi-i Nefise School, taking lessons from Osman Hamdi Bey, Alexandre Vallaury and Salvatore Valeri. In 1897, he graduated first in his class. Şevket Dağ opens his first solo exhibition in a custard shop near the Kuyucu Murat Pasha Mausoleum in Istanbul, and later participates in various group exhibitions. He participated in exhibitions organized in cities such as Athens, Munich, Sofia, Brussels, Paris and New York, and became known in international art circles. He won various awards and medals in these exhibitions. In 1909, the artist starts teaching painting at Galatasaray High School and becomes one of the founders of the Ottoman Society of Painters, established in the same year. He participates in various exhibitions with the 1914 Generation Artists. Known especially for his works depicting interiors, Dağ depicts places such as mosques, inns and bazaars with a realistic approach. In the last years of his life, he was interested in politics and served as a member of parliament for Konya and Siirt, and passed away in 1944.
Although the works of Şevket Dağ, who has an important place in our art history with his detailed depictions of interiors in his paintings, have been exhibited in different group exhibitions after the artist's lifetime, a comprehensive exhibition where a large number of his works can be seen together has not been organized until today. Şevket Dağ, who has created many works focusing on the historical sites of Istanbul, is embracing Istanbul, which he cherished, once again through this exhibition.
Tuesday, September 26
13.00-14.00