Rudolf Hellgrewe, “The Golden Horn at Dusk,” y. 1900. By courtesy of Meşher.

“It is evident that the enchantment of Istanbul stems, in part, from its seemingly contradictory dualities, making the city unique by thriving on them. For these reasons, we can assert that the exhibition’s mood revolves around dualities—opposites that sometimes repel and sometimes attract each other.”
Ebru Esra Satıcı, Şeyda Çetin

This month, Hitit Mod’s artistic exploration centers around Istanbul. The exhibition “Istanbul as Far as the Eye Can See: Views Across Five Centuries” at Meşher invites visitors to gaze across Istanbul’s skyline from one end to the other, presenting a 500-year visual chronicle of the Ottoman capital city. For Hitit Mod, the curators Ebru Esra Satıcı and Şeyda Çetin of Meşher explain the mood of the exhibition “Istanbul as Far as the Eye Can See: Views Across Five Centuries” as follows:

“As we came near the city - it is astonishing what a beautiful effect all the snow white domes and minarets have rising from the water; there can be no place so strange and lovely.”
(Edward Lear to Ann Lear; August 27, 1848)

“Constantinople is a Babylon, a world, a chaos. —Is it beautiful? —Marvelously. —Ugly? —Horribly so. —Do you like it? —It fascinates me. —Shall you remain? —How on earth can I tell? Can any one tell how long he is likely to stay on another planet?”
(Edmondo de Amicis, Constantinople, 1877)

In the exhibition, featuring more than 100 depictions of Istanbul crafted in a wide array of materials and techniques, the juxtaposition of dreams and reality is striking. As reflected in two accompanying quotations, visitors describing their initial impressions of Istanbul use conflicting adjectives. In their eyes, the city is both marvelous and strange. It is evident that the enchantment of Istanbul stems, in part, from its seemingly contradictory dualities, making the city unique by thriving on them. For these reasons, we can assert that the exhibition’s mood revolves around dualities—opposites that sometimes repel and sometimes attract each other. These contradictions may not be immediately visible in the depictions of the city. The exhibition aims to be in pursuit beyond the visible, exploring the details captured in wide-angle views of Istanbul.

Ebru Esra Satıcı, Şeyda Çetin

“Istanbul as Far as the Eye Can See” brings together various rare artifacts from the Ömer Koç Collection, showcasing over 100 items, including paintings depicting the city’s landscapes, engravings, rare books, albums, panoramic photographs, and heirloom objects from Istanbul. Spanning the 15th century to the first quarter of the 20th century, when Istanbul served as the Ottoman capital city, the exhibition not only appreciates the images from Istanbul’s past but also explores diplomatic relations of the period, the city’s transformations, its multicultural structure, and social life through texts. Using quotations from various sources, the exhibition aims to foster a dialogue between Ottoman/Turkish literary productions of the 19th and early 20th centuries as well as the perspective of the Western authors.

Evelyn Gorkiewicz de Habdank (1878–1963), “From Agha Hammam, the Last Day of the Year, 1895”, Watercolor Painting Album, May 1895–January 1896. By courtesy of Meşher.

In the exhibition, one encounters not only the works of artists and photographers from the era but also those of individuals with diverse occupations, ranging from ship captains and travelers to soldiers, ambassadors, authors, architects, and urban planners.

Various techniques stand out in the works created by the Westerners, sometimes driven by political or military motives and at other times by aesthetic considerations. The Panorama of Istanbul, crafted by the British artist Henry Aston Barker in 1800 based on the sketches drawn from the top of the Galata Tower, the engraving of Philipp Franz von Gudenus, an embassy secretary in Istanbul, from the roof of the Swedish Embassy in 1741, and Joseph Schranz’s panorama of the Bosporus from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara are among the prominent pieces in the exhibition… The oldest work featured is Hartmann Schedel’s Liberchronicarum (1493), while Alexandre V. Pankoff’s album of original designs and paintings (1922-1924) stands as one of the more recent creations. Additionally, visitors can explore James Robertson’s album, consisting of the earliest known 360-degree panoramic photographs of Istanbul taken from the Bayezid Tower in May 1854, complete with the artist’s signature and dedication.

As the curators put it when explaining the mood of the exhibition, those who want to “explore beyond the visible by chasing the details found in wide-angle views of Istanbul” can get lost in the panoramic works that offer a view of the city from one end to the other. They can also discover intriguing details that complement Istanbul’s skyline, such as shopkeepers in traditional attire, women riding in ox carts, Westerners distinguished by their hats, children, and the city’s four-legged inhabitants.

Şeyda Çetin and Ebru Esra Satıcı, in curating the works across three floors for the exhibition, made a deliberate effort to select landscapes from various parts and neighborhoods of Istanbul. They emphasize that the highlighted themes and stories are interconnected rather than sharply delineated, mutually feeding and complementing each other. The curators have structured the exhibition with the belief that unveiling the relationships between the works, rather than evaluating them based on their era and techniques, will contribute to the endeavor of comprehending this multi-layered city.

By courtesy of Meşher

Meşher, named after the Ottoman Turkish word for “exhibition area”, stands as one of Istanbul’s prominent interdisciplinary art venues. Located in the historic district of Beyoğlu, Meşher endeavors to facilitate a new platform for dialogue between different periods and cultures through exhibitions encompassing historical research to contemporary art. The venue extends its reach through various parallel activities such as publications, workshops, and conferences. Housed in a building with historical significance, this structure was identified as “Friedmann Apartment” on the Charles E. Goad’s map from 1905 and “Meymaret Han” on the Jacques Pervititch’s map from 1932. The architect behind the building is believed to be Petraki Meymaridis Efendi, based on this name. Suat Nirven’s map from 1950 indicates a change in the building’s name. Renamed as “Meymenet Han” during the Republican era, it underwent restoration between 2007 and 2009, then it served as the home for the contemporary art space Arter, belonging to the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKV), until the end of 2018. Since September 2019, Meşher has been operating within this historical Beyoğlu building and is open to visits for free of charge.

Photo: Murat Germen, by courtesy of Meşher.

Instead of re-praising the city, “Istanbul as Far as the Eye Can See: Views Across Five Centuries” invites visitors to explore the diversity of the narrative and the variety of depictions. The exhibition will be open until May 26, 2024.