Namık İsmail (1890 in

Samsun Samsun, historically known as Sampsounta ( gr, Σαμψούντα) and Amisos (Ancient Greek: Αμισός), is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and is a major Black Sea port. In 2021, Samsun reco ...

– August 30, 1935 in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) was a Turkish

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter and art educator, who received his training in France.

Biography

İsmail was born into an upper-class family that moved to Istanbul while he was still a child. After attending the public schools, he was enrolled at the Saint Benoit French High School in Istanbul. Inspired by his father's interest in

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

, he also took private art lessons from

Şevket Dağ Şevket Dağ (1876, Istanbul - 1944, Istanbul) was a Turkish painter, art teacher and politician. Although he painted in a wide variety of genres, he is perhaps best remembered for his interior portraits of major historical structures. Biograp ...

. After he graduated, his father decided to send him to Paris to continue his studies.Brief biography
@ Sanal Müze. Ismail-threshing

In 1911, he was admitted to the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

and later found a position in the workshop of

Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biograph ...

. However, he found himself more attracted to

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly th ...

and the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...

, as opposed to Cormon's

Academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

style.Brief biography
@ Tablo. He went home for a vacation, but was unable to return to France due to the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and served briefly in the

Caucasian Campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...

. He was mustered out after contracting

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

. In 1917, he had his first showing at the " Galatasaray Exhibition" and was awarded a silver medal. Shortly thereafter, he helped establish a workshop in

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şi ...

, together with

İbrahim Çallı İbrahim Çallı (13 July 1882 in Çal – 22 May 1960 in İstanbul) was a Turkish painter. He is popularly known as Çallı İbrahim. Biography İbrahim Çallı was born in Çal, Denizli. He showed early interest in painting during his primary ...

, Sami Yetik, , and others, who became known as the "Çallı Generation". He also traveled to Berlin to exhibit with

Celal Esat Arseven Celal Esat Arseven (1875 – 13 November 1971) was a Turkish painter, writer and politician. He made contributions to various fields, including photography, literary art history, theater, cinema, architecture and urbanism. He was one of the firs ...

, where they stayed for two years, working with

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Se ...

and

Max Liebermann Max Liebermann (20 July 1847 – 8 February 1935) was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany and continental Europe. In addition to his activity as an artist, he also assembled an important ...

. In 1919, he returned home and became a teacher at the

Osman Nuri Pasha Osman Nuri Pasha ( ota, عثمان نوری پاشا‎; 1832, Tokat, Ottoman Empire – 4 to 5 April 1900, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire), also known as Ghazi Osman Pasha ( tr, Gazi Osman Paşa), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman field mars ...

Middle School. The following year, he married Mediha Hanım, daughter of the

Mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Miz ...

Şefik Bey. They separated after ten years of marriage and divorced just two months before his death. He resigned his position at the middle school to travel in Italy. After returning home, he worked as an editorial director at '' İleri'', a

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

newspaper, then became an assistant manager at the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (Academy of Fine Arts, now the

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University The Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University ( tr, Mimar Sinan Güzel Sanatlar Üniversitesi, or MSGSÜ) is a Turkish public university dedicated to higher education in the fine arts. It is located in the Fındıklı neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, Istanbu ...

). In 1925, the Ministry of National Education held a contest to design a new Turkish coat of arms. İsmail won the contest, with an escutcheon that included

Asena Asena is the name of a she-wolf associated with the Oghuz Turkic foundation myth. The ancestress of the Göktürks is also a she-wolf, mentioned yet unnamed in two different "Wolf Tales" recorded by Chinese chroniclers. The legend of Asena tell ...

, a she-wolf from the folktales of the

Göktürks The Göktürks, Celestial Turks or Blue Turks ( otk, 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰰:𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣, Türük Bodun; ; ) were a nomadic confederation of Turkic peoples in medieval Inner Asia. The Göktürks, under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan (d. 552) and ...

, but the design was never used. Ismail-Men on Deck

In 1928, he was appointed director of the academy, which position he held until his death from a heart attack while on a ferry crossing from

Kadıköy Kadıköy (), known in classical antiquity and during the Roman and Byzantine eras as Chalcedon ( gr, Χαλκηδών), is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the northern shore of the Sea of ...

References

External links

More paintings by İsmail
@ Sergiler
An appreciation of his life and art
@ Antikalar {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Namik 1890 births 1935 deaths People from Samsun Impressionism 20th-century Turkish painters

Biography

References

Further reading

External links