Today I would like to say something about a painting named “Kaplumbaga Terbiyecisi” which belongs “Osman Hamdi Bey” ,who is a famus Turkish artist lived 1842-1910. What makes this work famous and important? When we ask, we need to get to know Osman Hamdi Bey a little better in order to find an answer.
He is considered the first Turkish archaeologist. The most important archaeological excavation was the Sidon King Cemetery (Lebanon) excavations carried out in 1887-1888. During these excavations, he found the world-famous Alexander Sarcophagus.
Osman Hamdi Bey's most well-known work, "The Turtle Trainer", has become such a classic not only because it is a masterwork, but also because it is interpreted as the representation of Osman Hamdi Bey's own story.
Almost all experts say that the figure in the said painting is
There is a common opinion that he is Osman Hamdi Bey. The fact that Osman Hamdi Bey devoted his life to educating people and giving importance to art, and that he was left alone for this cause, and that his efforts were very slowly rewarded, coincides with the symbols in the picture.
It is an accepted assumption that the turtles, which are very difficult or even impossible to "train", represent the people in the picture, and that the slowness, which is the most distinctive feature of the turtles, is a reference to the influence of Osman Hamdi's efforts.
The figure in the picture turns his face to the light coming from a small window and holds a kind of flute which is a traditional music instrument called Ney in Turkish in his hand, representing art. So, again, according to the accepted assumption, Osman Hamdi Bey, represented in the picture, is trying to discipline the turtles with Ney, a musical instrument, that is, with art. Some experts also interpreted the fact that the man was holding the Ney behind his back and that the figure was depicted leaning forward as an indication of Osman Hamdi Bey's fatigue and weakening of his faith.
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