Fatma Nazlı Ecevit (4 January 1900 – 14 August 1985) was a Turkish school teacher and a realist-impressionist painter. She was the mother of Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit.

Early life

Fatma Nazlı Ecevit was born in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, as

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

the then capital of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, on 4 January 1900. Her father was Emin Sargut, a colonel, her paternal grandfather Salih Pasha, a major general ( ota, Ferik) and her maternal grandfather Kirat Pasha, an aide to the Ottoman Sultan She was of Bosniak ancestry. After she graduated from the Çapa Teacher's School for Girls ( ota, Çapa İnas Dar-ül muallimat) in 1915, Mihri Müşfik, one of the first Turkish women painters, encouraged her to develop her interest in painting. She went on to study at the Fine Arts School for Girls ( ota, İnas Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi) between 1915 and 1922, where she was taught by Ömer Adil, and joined the workshop of

Feyhaman Duran Feyhaman Duran (Sept. 17, 1886 – May 6, 1970) was a Turkish artist. Biography He was born in Istanbul in 1886. After graduating from Galatasaray High School, he was sent to Paris by Halim Paşa to study painting. He became a student of Jean- ...

. As the graduating examinations for the Fine Arts School for Girls were cancelled due to the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

, she obtained a teaching certificate.

Years as teacher

Nazlı was employed as a painting teacher at Beşiktaş Junior High School for Girls. She then followed her father to

Kastamonu Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012.) The ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

, and suspended her painting career for 25 years. She first taught in Kastamonu, and later in

Bolu Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis ...

and

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...

. She married in 1924 and moved to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. The next year, she gave birth to a son, Bülent, who went on to become a political party leader and four times

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. She worked as an art teacher in the Ankara Teachers' School of Music, the forerunner of the Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory. She also taught in the Istanbul Master Junior High School. Her career as teacher lasted for nineteen years.

Painting career

Nazlı resumed painting in 1947. She had showed her works at the Galatasaray Expositions during her student years and resumed doing so at group exhibitions after 1947. She also held private exhibitions. During her student years, she painted

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

and nudes. From 1948 to 1975, her works were displayed almost every year at the State Art and Sculpture Exhibition. Her works present a realist and impressionist style that she developed in the Fine Arts Union, of which she was a member and for some time also its chairperson. Her style resembles that of Turkish painters of the 1930s' generation like

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 ...

, Şeref Akdik, Ali Karsan and Adil Doğançay and she had a powerful sense of design. After 1947, she painted mostly

landscapes A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the p ...

and still lifes, combining the soft and colourful sensitivity of the impressionist style in landscape paintings of

Salacak Salacak is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar municipality of Istanbul, Turkey. It is located on the Asian shore of the Bosporus, to the south of the historic center of Üsküdar. The word ''salacak'' means "bench for washing a corpse," but the nam ...

, the Bosphorus in Istanbul and Bursa with a realist look at local atmosphere.She worked in

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

watercolours Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

crayon A crayon (or wax pastel) is a stick of pigmented wax used for writing or drawing. Wax crayons differ from pastels, in which the pigment is mixed with a dry binder such as gum arabic, and from oil pastels, where the binder is a mixture of wax a ...

and charcoal.Her impressionism was based on a tradition transmitted via military painters in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Health issues and death

By June 1985, Nazlı was hospitalised in Istanbul, where she lived, due to

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and

urinary The urinary system, also known as the urinary tract or renal system, consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and the urethra. The purpose of the urinary system is to eliminate waste from the body, regulate blood volume and blood pressure, co ...

problems. Later, she was transferred to Ankara, where her son Bülent Ecevit resided. On 14 August 1985, she died at the age of 85 in the hospital of

Hacettepe University Hacettepe University is a leading state university in Ankara, Turkey. It was established on 8 July 1967. It is ranked first among the Turkish universities by URAP in 2021. The university has two main campuses. The first campus is in the old t ...

, where she was being treated. She was interred at Cebeci Asri Cemetery following a funeral service at the Hacı Bayram Mosque.

Works

Her notable paintings include: * ''Keriman Hanım'ın Portresi'' (''Portrait of Kerman Hanım''), (1922) İstanbul State Art and Sculpture Museum * ''Çiçekler'' (''Flowers''), İstanbul State Art and Sculpture Museum * ''Çamlıcan'dan Görünüm'' (''View from Çamlıca'') * ''Balkonlu Manzara'' (''Landscape with Balcony'') * ''Bebek'' (''Baby''), (sold in April 2000 for approx. US$19,200) * ''Salacakta Kız Kulesi'' (''

Maiden's Tower __NOTOC__ The Maiden's Tower ( tr, Kız Kulesi), also known as Leander's Tower (''Tower of Leandros'') since the medieval Byzantine period, is a tower on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, from the coast of Ü ...

at Salacak''), (sold in June for approx. US$23,200) * ''Boğaziçi'' (''Bosporus''), (1954) (sold in June 2000 for approx. US$8,000) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had one of her oil paintings named Salacak hung in the office building of the prime minister in July 2003 after he took office in the March of that year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ecevit, Nazli 1900 births Artists from Istanbul Turkish schoolteachers Turkish women painters 20th-century Turkish painters Realist painters Turkish Impressionist painters 1985 deaths Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery Nazli Turkish people of Bosniak descent