Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu (1911 – 21 September 1975) was a Turkish

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

, mosaic-maker, muralist, writer and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. His art work was inspired by Anatolian village scenes and folk literature, and included traditional handicraft folk patterns.

Early life

Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu was born in 1911 in

Görele Görele is a town in Giresun Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey. It is the seat of Görele District.

on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, the second child in a family with five. His elder brother, Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, was a well-known writer and his younger sister, Mualla Eyüboğlu, was one of the first architects working in restoration and well known for her work on the

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

section of

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace (; ), or the Seraglio, is a large museum and library in the east of the Fatih List of districts of Istanbul, district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the completion of Dolmabahçe Palace in 1856, it served as the ad ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. Due to his father Mehmet Rahmi later Eyüboğlu's position as the Governor of Trabzon, Eyüboğlu lived in various parts of Turkey before attending high school in

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

. In 1928, he started to write poetry. His father later became a member of parliament chosen by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

. In 1929, he moved to Istanbul to enter the

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (, or MSGSÜ) is a public art university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university's campus is located in the Fındıklı, Beyoğlu. The university was established in 1882 under the leadership of Osman Hamdi Bey. Hi ...

(formerly Academy of Fine Arts, Istanbul).Orga, Atesh (ed.) (2007) "Istanbul: Portrait of a City" ''Istanbul: A Collection of the Poetry of Place'' Eland, London, p. 48, In 1931 he left the Academy temporarily to go to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with his brother, studying French first in

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

and then in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

. He then studied at the Andre Lohte's studio in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he met his future wife, Eren Eyüboğlu (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Ernestine Leibovici). They were married 1933. Eren organized his first one-man show at the Hasefer Gallery in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in 1935. Back in Turkey, he completed his studies and obtained his diploma in 1936. In 1937, he entered the Academy as an assistant and translator of Léopold Lévy. He remained at the Academy until his death in 1975. He was sent by the government to work in

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

in 1938 and then in

Çorum Çorum () is a northern Anatolian city in Turkey. Çorum is located inland in the central Black Sea Region of Turkey and is approximately from Ankara and from Istanbul. It is the seat of Çorum Province and of Çorum District.< ...

and Iskilip in 1942, a period that marked a turning point in his artistic career.

Career and mid-life

Eyüboğlu exhibited with the D Group of painters starting in 1936, and founded the Group of 10 for young painters. Impressed by the

Musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme (; literally "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moder ...

's exhibition of

African art African art encompasses modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual cultures originating from indigenous African diaspora, African communities across the African continent. The definition may also include the ar ...

on a second trip to Paris, he started using

woodblock printing Woodblock printing or block printing is a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia and originating in China in antiquity as a method of textile printing, printing on textiles and later on paper. Each page ...

in order to allow more people to see his work. He had an affair with artist Mari Gerekmezyan, while still he was married. Throughout the 1940s, Gerekmezyan assisted Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu in his artwork. Gerekmezyan died in 1947. Eyüboğlu was a prolific artist, both on canvas and in mosaic form. Early works include the

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es he painted for the Lido Restaurant in Istanbul in 1943, and a large panel he designed for the

Ankara Opera House Ankara Opera House () of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet, also called the Grand Theater, is the first and only Opera House of Ankara, located in the Altındağ district along Atatürk Boulevard. The building was originally designed by the Tur ...

in 1946. Various Eyüboğlu mosaic panels can be seen in Istanbul, for example in the İMC complex off Atatürk Bulvarı and in 4.Levent. He also prepared a panel of for the Brussels Fair in 1958, which was awarded first prize. In 1960, he made a panel for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

headquarters in Paris, which was transferred to the headquarters in Brussels when France left NATO. He completed a

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window composition at the Embassy of Turkey in

Bonn, Germany Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

. In 1960, he was invited to the United States on a Rockefeller and a

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

grant. Eyüboğlu was also guest professor at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. Eyüboğlu taught at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, until his death. Notable students of his include

İbrahim Çallı İbrahim Çallı (13 July 1882 – 22 May 1960), popularly known as Çallı İbrahim, was a Turkish painter and educator. He was a founding members of the Society of Ottoman Painters. He trained many young painters as a professor at Mimar Sinan ...

List of mosaic mural works

(1946), * Ankara Etibank (1953), * 4th Levent neighborhood, Istanbul, residential walls (1956–1957), * (1955), * Hacettepe Hospital (1954–1955), *

Expo 58 Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bureau Internati ...

, a world fair in Brussels, mosaics for the Turkish Pavilion (1958), * Istanbul Manifaturacılar Sitesi (Draftsmen Site) mosaic panels (1963–1965), * Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (1978), *

Haydarpaşa Haydarpaşa is a locality within the Kadıköy and Üsküdar districts on the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey. Haydarpaşa is named after Ottoman Vizier Haydar Pasha. The place, on the coast of Sea of Marmara, borders to Harem in the northwest and ...

Chest Diseases Hospital (1979).

Written works

Beside his artistic work, Bedri Rahmi was also a writer whose work appeared in various literary reviews, including ''

Yeni Adam ''Yeni Adam'' () was a cultural magazine which was published in Istanbul, Turkey, between 1934 and 1979 with some interruptions. It was one of the publications which were started to support the policies and ideas of the newly founded Republic of ...

'' magazine, and the newspaper ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...

'' where he had a weekly art column from 1952 to 1958. His first published poem, ''Yaradana Mektup'' (''Letter to the Creator''), was published in 1941. His second book ''Karadut'' (''Black Mulberry'') was published in 1948. One of his best known poems if The Saga of Istanbul (''Istanbul Destanı)''. Other poetry books are as follows: *''Tuz'' 1952 *''Üçü Birden'', 1953 *''Dördü Birden'', 1956 *''Karadut 69'', 1969 *''Dol Karabakır Dol'', 1974 *''Yaşadım'', 1977 *''Tezek''

Death and legacy

Eyüboğlu died on 21 September 1975 from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

. He was laid to rest in the Küçükyalı Cemetery in Istanbul. His work can be seen in the

Istanbul Modern Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, colloquially referred to as Istanbul Modern (), is a contemporary art gallery located inside the Galataport complex in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. Inaugurated on December 11, 2004, Istanbul Modern was ...

art gallery in Galataport, and in various museums in the United States and Europe including

Grey Art Gallery The Grey Art Museum, known until 2023 as the Grey Art Gallery, is New York University's fine art museum. As a university art museum, the Grey Art Gallery functions to collect, preserve, study, document, interpret, and exhibit the evidence of h ...

. Posthumously in 1976, Eyüboğlu was selected as "artist of the year" by ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...

'' newspaper.

References

External links

Turkoloji.cu.edu.tr

Biography
* https://web.archive.org/web/20080706033255/http://www.bedrirahmi.com/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20080325092236/http://www.eyubogluailesi.org/ * https://web.archive.org/web/20071031004426/http://www.eyubogullari.org/eb {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyüboğlu, Bedri Rahmi 1911 births 1975 deaths People from Görele Bedri Rahmi Turkish male poets Turkish male painters Turkish columnists Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul alumni Academic staff of Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Deaths from pancreatic cancer in Turkey Fresco painters 20th-century Turkish male writers 20th-century Turkish male artists 20th-century Turkish poets 20th-century Turkish painters