Yervant Voskan (1855,

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, ...

– Istanbul 1914) was an

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painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, instructor, and administrator. He is the first known sculptor in modern

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sculpture history and as the first sculpture teacher at the Sanay-i Nefise he educated the first generation of

sculptors.

Early life and studies

Yervant Voskan was born in 1855 in Samatya, Istanbul into an

family as the son of writer Hagop Voskan (1825 – 1907). His grandfather was Voskan Gotogyan of Erzurum, a foundryman at the Imperial Mint. After receiving his primary education from his father, he attended the Catholic Makruhyan Armenian School in

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and the Pera Hayr Ananya school. In 1866, with the support of his family, he went to Venice to study at the Murad Raphaelian School. There he was a student of Luigi Qura. Later he continued his studies in

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at the

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as a student of Enrico Bektti and Cirolana Mazzini. In 1878 he was sent to Paris on a state scholarship to be educated in sculpture.

Career

Upon his return to the Ottoman Empire in 1881 he aided in the founding of the department of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

at the Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mekteb-i Âlisi in 1883. It was one if the schools first departments and Voskan was its first teacher. He began teaching sculpture in the academy on March 1, 1883. At the time, he was the only professor of sculpture in the

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. The first time period was spent looking for students to teach as it was difficult at the time to find students who wanted to study sculpture. Eventually İhsan Özsoy, İsa Behzat, Mehmet Bahri and Mesrur Izzet would become Osgan Efendis first students and would be the first representatives of Turkish sculptors in sculpture history. In his 32 years at the school, Oskan would teach the first generation of Turkish sculptors. Voskan is credited with educating the first generation of sculptors of the

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Archeological work

Along with Osman Hamdi Bey, Voskan conducted the first scientific based archaeological in the history of the

. His archaeological research included the Commagene tomb-sanctuary in Nemrut Dağı in south-eastern

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and the Alexander Sarcophagus in

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. He was the chief restorer of the Sarcophagus. Yervant Voskan eventually retired from the academy in 1908 and died only 6 years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voskan, Yervant 1855 births 1914 deaths Artists from Istanbul Armenians from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Armenian sculptors Armenian archaeologists 19th-century Armenian painters 20th-century Armenian sculptors 20th-century Armenian painters 19th-century artists from the Ottoman Empire Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery Archaeologists from Istanbul