Nurullah Berk (March 22, 1906, İstanbul – January 9, 1982, İstanbul) was a Turkish painter, writer and an academician who pioneered

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

and

constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...

in Turkey. After finishing Galatasaray Lycee he attended Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi, today

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 ...

, where he studied under Hikmet Onat and

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 ...

. In 1924 he went to Paris to attend

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

where he studied with

Ernest Laurent Ernest Joseph Laurent (June 8, 1859 – June 25, 1929) was a French painter and printmaker. He was born in Gentilly and died in Bièvres, Essonne. Laurent was a neo-impressionist artist whose main influences were his instructor Ernest Héb ...

and

André Lhote André Lhote (5 July 1885 – 24 January 1962) was a French Cubist painter of figure subjects, portraits, landscapes and still life. He was also active and influential as a teacher and writer on art. Early life and education Lhote was born ...

. After finishing his studies in 1928 he returned to Istanbul. With some of his friends he established "Müstakil Ressamlar ve Heykeltıraşlar Birliği" (Union of Independent Painters and Sculptors). After five years, he again went to Paris and then returned in 1933. With other fellow artists

Abidin Dino Abidin Dino (23 March 1913 – 7 December 1993) was a Turkish artist and a well-known painter. Early years Dino was born on 23 March 1913 in Istanbul into an art-loving family. He was grandchild of Abedin Dino, Albanian descended Ottoman dipl ...

Elif Naci Elif Naci Kalpakçıoğlu (1898 – 8 May 1987), best known as Elif Naci, was a Turkish painter, curator, journalist and writer. Early life Elif Naci was born in Gelibolu, Çanakkale, Ottoman Empire in 1898. He completed his primary education in ...

, Zeki Faik İzer,

Cemal Tollu Cemal Tollu (19 April 1899 – 26 July 1968) was a Turkish painter. He served in the Turkish War of Independence as a cavalry lieutenant. and witnessed the Fire of Manisa. In 1933 he founded the " D Group" with several other painters who were ...

and Zühtü Müridoğlu he became a leader of a movement that was described as a reaction to established 1914 generation impressionism and exploring

and constructionism. They eventually called themselves

Group D Group D may refer to: * FIA Group D - International Formula racing cars: ** Formula Two ** Formula Three ** Formula 3000 * One of six or eight groups of four teams competing at the FIFA World Cup ** 2022 FIFA World Cup Group D ** 2018 FIFA World ...

. He was instrumental in developing a Turkish identity in painting. In 1939 he joined the faculty of İstanbul Art Academy (Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi). In 1962 he was appointed as the director of

State Art and Sculpture Museum State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

(Resim Heykel Müzesi). Between 1932 and 1977 he published 15 books on painting, modern art and various famous painters. He held many exhibitions and won various awards. His best-known works are; “Still life with Playing Cards,” “Woman Ironing,” “The Tailor”, “The Concubine” and “Thorns”. He was married to Münevver (Andaç), a cousin of

Nazim Hikmet Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

and had a daughter. Later they divorced and he then married Efser and had a daughter with her as well. He died in 1982 and buried in

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, is the second largest of the Prince' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbull, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood of the Adalar district of Istanbul. Its name, meaning 'with a saddlebag' in Turkish, in ...

Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berk, Nurullah 1906 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Turkish painters 20th-century Turkish writers Galatasaray High School alumni Artists from Istanbul