An Ottoman House with Wall Paintings in Antakya: the 151 Kuseyri House

Abstract

The political context of the 17th and 18th centuries forced the Ottoman Empire to establish political and economic relationships with the West, and as a result, this induced a number of changes in art as well as in society. When the westernization process, which was effective as from the end of the 17th century is analyzed, it can be observed that the changes in society and culture were not rapid (Renda 1977:15). After the middle of the 18th century, thanks to the endeavors of the Sultans who sought contacts with the West, Western science and culture were introduced. European styles were adopted in architecture and painting: miniatures, which were the dominant style of Turkish painting, were replaced by painting in the European style. The architectural ornamentation programme, which developed through the inclusion of the European baroque, rococo and empire styles, set the foundations of a painting type which can be called wall painting in the middle of the 18th century. The new ornamentation programme, which was adopted in the capital, influenced the interior architecture of buildings during the last quarter of the 18th century (Renda 1977:194-195; 1978:720; 1985:19). The Ottoman ayans and notables, who attained important poSitions of power during the reign of Selim ill (1789-1807) were effective in the expansion of this new ornamentation style. During this era, the ayans were very effective both in their regions and in the administration of the empire. It was no surprise, then, that trying to keep up with the new styles of the capital through the imitation of the living standards in Istanbul, they also endeavoured to build the new buildings in their towns and cities similar to the ones in the capital (Renda 1977:197; 1986:114). However, the progress was naturally not as Significant in rural areas of the rest of the Empire (Renda, 1977: 194). These paintings were applied in the palace and building architecture and also in the religious buildings such as mosques and turbes. They were mainly composed of natural landscapes and were ornamented by friezes of the ceiling flashing, or on panels or niches on the walls. Most of the landscapes include the Bosphorus or the Golden Horn and the landscapes of religious cities such as Mecca and Medina (Ank 1976: 120-121; Renda 1977: 195). Imaginary landscapes and illustrations of specific buildings or regions can also be found. The common point of the landscapes is that they do not include human figures (Ank 1976: 133; Atasoy 1976:27), and the themes are composed of buildings and natural elements drawn from different angles. Despite the differences in styles, the common point of these paintings is that they manifest the features of Western painting techniques, such as perspective, graded color transitions and light and shadow, which radically differentiate them from the Turkish painting tradition.