Tradition and Modernity: Turkish Painting in the Arkas Collection (1920-1970)

Arkas Art Center extends an invitation to art enthusiasts to reconsider the dynamic between tradition and modernity in Turkish painting through the exhibition Tradition and Modernity: Turkish Painting in the Arkas Collection (1920-1970). Curated by art historian and academic Prof. Dr. Burcu Pelvanoğlu, the exhibition challenges traditional art historiography, revealing that the Early Republican and the Constitutional Era periods were not separate, but rather interconnected phases of modernization. By exploring how movements such as Impressionism, Late Cubism, and Art Déco were interpreted in Turkish painting, the exhibition highlights the complex interplay between tradition and modernity. A selection from the Arkas Collection illustrates how artists navigated the tension between modernization and local identity during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic.

Modernization through Landscape and figure

The exhibition, which spans from the early years of the Republic to the 1970s, examines how artists of this period contributed to the modernization process through both figure and landscape painting. While landscape works illustrate the transformation of rural culture—from the Bosphorus and the Islands to Ankara and Anatolia—the figurative works reflect the emergence of the modern individual, lifestyle, and urban transformation. The impact of artists who studied in Paris on scholarship after World War II, particularly their influence on the New Paris School and the evolving self-confidence in Turkish painting, also plays a significant role in the exhibition.

Bringing together key figures in the history of Turkish painting, the exhibition traces the influence of the 1914 Generation artists—İbrahim Çallı, Nazmi Ziya, Hikmet Onat, and Namık İsmail—who studied at Fernand Cormon’s studio in Paris, and highlights how the plein-air painting tradition of Hoca Ali Rıza and Halil Paşa shaped subsequent generations. The exhibition features works by Hale Asaf from the Union of Independent Painters and Sculptors, as well as André Lhote, a teacher of the Group d artists. It also includes works by prominent figures such as Bedri Rahmi, Eren Eyüboğlu, Cemal Tollu, Nurullah Berk, and Hamit Görele, alongside the works of Fikret Mualla, Pierre Bonnard, and Léopold Lévy.

Arkas Art Center

Everyday except Monday: 10.00-18.00

Long Thursday: 10.00-20.00

Ticket Type	Fee
Regular Ticket	100 TL
Discounted Ticket	50 TL
High school and university students, faculty members, visitors aged 65 and over
Free Admission
Children aged 0-12 years, disabled visitors and one accompanying person, ICOM card holders, Arkas employees, guides, press card holders

*Tickets at the box office

*Free admission on Tuesdays