Mihri Müşfik Hanım
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Mihri Müşfik Hanım (; born Mihri Rasim Achba; 26 February 1886 – 1954) was an Abkhazian princess and painter who became one of the first and most renowned female painters in Turkey. She was recognized especially for her portraits, including popular figures
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 ...
and
Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...
.


Early life and education

Mihri Müşfik Hanım was born on 26 February 1886 in the Rasim Pasha Mansion, Baklatarlası neighborhood of
Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...
in
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 ...
. She was a member of Abkhazian princely family,
Achba The House of Achba ( Abkhazian:Ачба, ka, ანჩაბაძე), is a Georgian and Abkhazian family, and the oldest surviving noble house originating in Abkhazia. History The Anchabadze family is supposed to have its roots in the e ...
. Her father was Prince Dr. Ahmed Rasim Pasha, an anatomy specialist, and a preeminent instructor in the Military School of Medicine. He was also the president of this institution. His refined tastes and interest in music, painting, and in literature played an important role in the artistic formation of his daughter. In addition to his reputation as a physician, he was also famous for his interest in music, and for playing the saz at evening gatherings. Her mother was Fatma Neședil Hanım, also an Abkhazian. Her younger sister Enise Hanım was mother to the painter
Hale Asaf Hale Asaf, originally Hale Salih (1905, Istanbul - 31 May 1938, Paris) was a Turkish painter of Georgians, Georgian, Abkhazians, Abkhazan and Circassians, Circassian ancestry. She was the niece of Turkey's first female artist, Mihri Müşfik Hanı ...
, another distinguished female artist of the late Ottoman society. Mihri Hanım received a typical western education. She took an interest in literature, music, and painting. Her first private lessons in painting were provided by an Italian Orientalist artist, Fausto Zonaro, in his studio in the Istanbul quarter of
Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...
-Akaretler. She fell in love with the Italian director of an acrobat company visiting Istanbul, and subsequently departed for
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, and then
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 ...
, evidently wishing to be involved in art circles. For sometime she lived and worked in a flat in
Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. It is split betwee ...
, sustaining herself by painting portraits, and subletting one of rooms to students. One of these tenants was Müşfik Selami Bey, a student of politics at the
University of Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, whom she later married. Müşfik was the son of Selami Bey, a well-known personage from
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
. He was interested in politics, history, and literature. However, their date of marriage is unknown.


Career


Early career

Mihri was introduced to Cavid Bey, Ottoman Minister of Finance, in Paris to arrange an agreement with the French government following the
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
. Telegrams sent by Cavid Bey to the Minister of Education recommending Mihri resulted in her being appointed as an art teacher at the Istanbul Teachers' Training School for Girls in 1913. When the School of Fine Arts for Girls ( İnas Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mektebi) was established in 1914, she was employed here as director as well as fine arts instructor, following the appointment of mathematician Salih Zeki Bey.


Edebiyat-ı Cedide

Mihri also had friends among the poets of Edebiyat-ı Cedide (New Literature), especially one of its leaders,
Tevfik Fikret Tevfik Fikret () was the pseudonym of Mehmed Tevfik (December 24, 1867 – August 19, 1915), an Ottoman educator and poet, who is considered the founder of the modern school of Turkish poetry. Biography Family Mehmed Tevfik was born in Is ...
. If the Edebiyat-ı Cedide constituted the literary wing of French artistic influence among the late Ottoman intelligentsia, Mihri Hanım can be said to represent its counterpart in painting; she clearly had a special place among the artists of this school. Tevfik Fikret's house in
Aşiyan Aşiyan is a quarter between Bebek, Beşiktaş, Bebek and Rumelihisarı in the Beşiktaş district of Istanbul, Turkey. It is situated on the European side of the Bosphorus. Aşiyan Museum and Aşiyan Asri Cemetery are located in the quarter. ...
became her studio for a time. Edebiyat-ı Cedide poets were influenced by Realism,
Parnassianism Parnassianism (or Parnassism) was a group of French poets that began during the positivist period of the 19th century (1860s–1890s), occurring after romanticism and prior to symbolism. The style was influenced by the author Théophile Gauti ...
, and
Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...
, which dominated nineteenth-century French literature during this period. Cenap Şahabettin, a member of Servet-i Fünun, notes one of its principle conceptions, a special relation with nature: "a place where emotions and dreams roam," it was also taken to act as the mirror of the artist's souls. In addition to this influence, the colour symbolism of Edebiyat-ı Cedide poetry seems to have influenced Mihri Hanım's work ''Maî ve Siyah'' lue and Black Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's famous novel reflects the 'blues' of the Edebiyat-ı Cedide school as well as Mihri Hanım's portraits.


Allegations

Mihri Hanım's visit to the journalist Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın and the convicted ex-minister of finance, Cavit Bey, gave rise to criticisms regarding her behaviour. In response, in 1919 she and her students paid a visit to the newspaper '' Tanin'', and denounced the allegations. Her close relations with the İttihat ve Terraki Cemiyeti (
Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...
; CUP) eventually caused Mihri Hanım to leave Istanbul, occupied by Allied powers, for Italy in 1919. Within a year after her return, she resumed teaching at the School of Fine Arts for Girls.


Visit to Italy and divorce

Toward the end of 1922, she went to Italy again and there ended her marriage with Müşfik Bey in 1923. She had an affair with the Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio and through him found an opportunity to paint a portrait of the pope as well as to work at the restoration of 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 in a chapel. Mihri Hanım had been introduced to Gabriele D'Annunzio by her friend, painter Renato Brozzi, and corresponded with him through Brozzi. She was occasionally a topic in their correspondence. On 4 February 1926, d'Annunzio wrote to Brozzi: "Where is the Turkish lady? I have been unable to hear from her. If you see her, embrace her for me, but this embrace must be that of
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 ...
agha's". In another letter, written on 26 August 1926, the "Turkish lady" was once again recalled: "Where is the
odalisque An odalisque (, ) was an enslaved chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. In western European usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refer ...
Mihri? What is she doing?" Apparently, regardless of Mihri Hanım's struggles as a professional, these Italian painters continued to view her through an Orientalist filter.


Later career

Mihri Hanım returned to Turkey briefly after the foundation of the Republic. Here, she painted Atatürk's portrait and presented it to him personally at the Çankaya Presidential Residence in
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
. Mihri Hanım subsequently traveled to Rome, to Paris and then to the United States (
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
,
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, and
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
). A news item in the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' dated 25 November 1928 noted that a collection of Mihri Hanım's work was to be exhibited at the George Maziroff Gallery between November 26 and December 15. Between 1938 and 1939, she worked as a protocol hostess at the World Exposition in
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...
, New York. During this period, she painted a portrait of Rezzan Yelman, the wife of journalist
Ahmet Emin Yalman Ahmet Emin Yalman (14 May 1888 – 19 December 1972) was a Turkish Sabbatean (crypto-jew) journalist, publisher, professor and influential policy-advisor in the Republic of Turkey. He was a liberal and opposed the spread of the Nazi ideology in h ...
, who lived in New York. She also reportedly produced cover illustrations for various journals published in New York during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Death

She lived her last years destitute, and died in 1954. She was buried in the potter's field on
Hart Island Hart Island, sometimes referred to as Hart's Island, is located at the western end of Long Island Sound, in the northeastern The Bronx, Bronx in New York City. Measuring approximately long by wide, Hart Island is part of the Pelham Islands ar ...
in New York.


Tribute

On 26 February 2017,
Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...
commemorated her 131st birthday. In September 2019, she was featured in the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' Overlooked'' series obituaries on remarkable people whose deaths initially went unreported in newspaper.


References


Sources

*


External links


Mihri Müşfik Hanım’ın Retrospektifi

New York'taki resim sergisine dair haber küpürü
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mihri Musfik Hanim 1886 births 1954 deaths Artists from Istanbul People from the Ottoman Empire of Abkhazian descent 20th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Turkish women artists Burials on Hart Island