18/03/2026
Bringing together major milestones in the history of Turkish painting, the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum Painting Collection now meets art lovers through its newly curated selection. First assembled by Sakıp Sabancı in the 1970s and enriched over time with new acquisitions and loans, the collection is now on view in the museum’s modern galleries with the support of Sabancı Holding. From Osman Hamdi Bey to Fikret Mualla, the works on display invite visitors to explore the transformation of Turkish painting through the newly curated selection of the Sakıp Sabancı Museum Painting Collection.
Spanning a broad historical period from the final decades of the Ottoman Empire to the formative years of the Republic, the exhibition presents not only paintings, but also photographs, postcards, and archival documents that offer deeper insight into the visual culture of the period. Visitors are thus invited to perceive the transformation of Turkish painting not solely on the canvas, but through the cultural and historical context of its time.
A historical narrative from the Ottoman Empire to modern Turkish painting
Beginning with nineteenth-century Ottoman painting and unfolding towards the development of modern Turkish art, the exhibition offers visitors a compelling historical journey. Along the trajectory, they encounter pivotal turning points such as the emergence of painting education within military schools, the Ottoman court’s influence on artistic production, and the formative years of academic art training.
From the earliest studies of the nude to the first exhibition initiatives, and from the initial impact of modernist currents arriving from Europe to the search for a distinctly local modernism, a wide range of themes is explored through some of the period’s most remarkable works. The exhibition highlights how Turkish painting evolved across different periods and artistic contexts.
Pioneering figures of Turkish painting brought together
By bringing together artists from different generations, the Sakıp Sabancı Museum Painting Collection traces the development of Turkish painting across more than a century. Among the leading figures of nineteenth-century Ottoman painting are Osman Hamdi Bey, Şeker Ahmed Paşa, Süleyman Seyyid, Halil Paşa, Hüseyin Zekai Paşa, and Hoca Ali Rıza.
The exhibition also features notable artists such as İbrahim Çallı, Hikmet Onat, Avni Lifij, Nazmi Ziya Güran, and Mihri Müşfik, who contributed significantly to the emergence of a new artistic milieu at the turn of the twentieth century.
Artists such as Fikret Mualla, Hale Asaf, Nurullah Berk, Nuri İyem, and Selim Turan, who embody the singular and experimental dimensions of modern Turkish painting, reveal the collection’s diverse aesthetic pursuits.
The collection also reveals the ways in which international movements such as Impressionism, Expressionism, and Cubism resonated within Turkish painting.
Enriched by works from diverse collections
In addition to the Sakıp Sabancı Museum’s Emirgan Archive and Avni Lifij Archive, the exhibition incorporates a number of significant collections. Long-term loans from the Seyhun Binzet Postcard Collection, the Istanbul University Feyhaman Duran House of Culture and Arts Collection, the Nedret Kuran Collection, and the Aksoy and Merey family collections further expand the scope of the exhibition.
In doing so, the exhibition offers a rare opportunity to encounter important works from different collections together under one roof.
A museum experience beyond the works themselves
The exhibition also sheds light on the museum practices that take place behind the scenes. A dedicated section focusing on the research, conservation, and restoration of artworks introduces visitors to the scientific research projects carried out under the title ‘Beyond Vision.’
At the Sakıp Sabancı Museum, the Painting Collection is housed in Gallery -1, while the Atlı Köşk and its garden, the Decorative Arts Collection, and The Arts of the Book and Calligraphy Collection are among the museum’s other permanent displays. The museum’s temporary exhibitions, meanwhile, can be visited in Gallery -2 and Gallery -3.
Sabancı University staff and students can visit the collections and exhibitions at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum free of charge.
