Müfide Kadri Hanım (1889/90, in Istanbul – 1912, in Istanbul) was a Turkish painter and composer; one of the first female artists in Turkey and the first professional female art teacher in the Ottoman Empire. She created mostly portraits and scenes with figures.

Biography

She lost her mother while still a baby and was adopted by Kadri Bey, a distant relative of some distinction, and his wife, who was childless.Brief biography
@ Sanal Müze "Retrospektif". She was taught entirely at home by private tutors, who discovered her artistic talent. She began painting seriously at the age of ten and took lessons from Osman Hamdi Bey.Biographical notes
@ Forum Gerçek. Then, she received instruction in drawing and watercolors from

Salvatore Valeri Salvatore Valeri (1856, Nettuno - 30 December 1946, Nettuno) was an Italian painter who spent much of his career as an art teacher in Turkey. Biography He studied painting at the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. In 1882, he moved from Italy to the ...

, an Italian- born Professor at the "Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi" (School of Fine Arts, now part of the Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University). She also learned how to play piano, violin, and traditional instruments such as the oud and kemenche.Curriculum Vitae
@ the İstanbul Kadın Müzesi. At the urging of Hamdi Bey, she sent some paintings to an exhibition in Munich, where they were awarded a gold medal. Shortly after, she became a music teacher at

Istanbul Girls High School Istanbul Girls' High School ( tr, İstanbul Kız Lisesi) was the first state established girls school in the Ottoman Empire. The school was inaugurated on March 21, 1850, by Sadrazam Mustafa Reshid Pasha, one of the architects of the Tanzimat ref ...

and was later assigned to teach art and embroidery. She also gave painting lessons to

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

's daughter at the Adile Sultan Palace. During this period, she also composed music to the words of various poets that was published in several cultural magazines. Shortly after showing three of her works at a major exhibition held by the Istanbul Opera Society in 1911, she was diagnosed with tuberculosis, but it was too late to provide effective treatment and she died the following year. After her death, forty of her paintings were sold to benefit the "Ottoman Painters Society". Kadri Bey felt so much grief, he made an Umrah to Mecca and lived there until forced to leave when Ottoman rule was overthrown. She was buried in Karacaahmet Cemetery. Her tombstone bears an inscription by the well-known calligrapher, , and her life served as inspiration for the novel ''Son Eseri'' (Last Work) by

Halide Edib Adıvar Halide Edib Adıvar ( ota, خالده اديب , sometimes spelled Halidé Edib in English; 11 June 1884 – 9 January 1964) was a Turkish novelist, teacher, ultranationalist and feminist intellectual. She was best known for her novels critici ...

, published in serial form in the newspaper '' Tanin'' .

Selected paintings

File:Müfide kadri Kitap Okuyan kadın.jpg, Woman Reading a Book File:Kadri-Lute.jpg, Woman Playing the Oud File:Kadri-Praying.jpg, Praying Girl File:Kadri-Beach.jpg, Lovers on the Beach

References

External links

An appreciation of Kadri on the 95th anniversary of her death
by Haşim Nur Gürel @ the Virtual Museum. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kadri, Mufide 1890 births 1912 deaths Turkish women painters 20th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire Genre painters Artists from Istanbul 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 20th-century Turkish painters 20th-century Turkish women artists Burials at Karacaahmet Cemetery Tuberculosis deaths in the Ottoman Empire 20th-century women painters