Celâl Esat Arseven - Turkish Painting Association

Who is Celâl Esat Arseven? (1875-1971)

He is an intellectual who has produced products in a wide range of fields, from painting to literature, from theater to cinema, from architecture and urbanism to art history. He is the first person to introduce Turkey to disciplines such as history of art and architecture and urban planning. In various publications in the field of art history, he claimed that there was a unique “Turkish Art” and there were leaders who accepted the scientific nature of Turkish art. The 5-Volume Art Encyclopedia is his most recorded work.
He is a politician who served as a member of parliament from Istanbul in the 7th term of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and from Giresun in the 8th term of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
He was born in Istanbul in 1875. He is the son of Ahmed Esad Pasha, one of the grand viziers of the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz. His mother is Fatma Suzidil.
He lost his father when he was just a baby. My primary education started at Taşmekep in Beşiktaş. Later, he saw his development at Hamidiye Mektebi, in 1888 at Galatasaray Mekteb-i Sultânisi and Beşiktaş Military Junior High School. While still in high school, he entered and graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences in 1889. Playing at the Academy of Fine Arts II. By the special order of Abdulhamid, he was admitted to the noble class of the Military Academy. He graduated as an infantry officer in 1894. During his education years, he took watercolor lessons from Hoca Ali Rıza Efendi and Zonaro.
In 1908, he published the humor magazine “Kalem” with his friend Selah Cimcoz. In the same year, he was sent to Europe by the Ministry of War to exhibit the works of Turkish painters and to give concerts with the Mabeyn orchestra. On his return, he resigned as a junior captain and devoted himself entirely to art.
In 1910, the play “Selim-i Salis” was written with Selah Cimcoz. The play, which attracted great attention, was published in 1958 under the name “Selim III” and was staged at the State Theatre.

During World War I, he worked as the Kadıköy Municipality Branch Directorate, and then as the organizer of exhibitions for painting artists in Europe. During the years when Germany was in a film crisis during the war, he took advantage of this performance and founded a company called Transorient Film; He worked as a screenwriter and director in this company. In 1917, he shot a contemporary adaptation of Goethe's Faust in Munich under the name "Die Tote Watch" (The Dead Awakens).
Between 1921 and 1941, he taught Architectural History and Urbanization at the Academy of Fine Arts. In addition to his duty at the academy, he served as Darülbedayi Director for a while after 1923. Additionally, in addition to his duty at the academy, he worked as the Urban Development Consultant of Hermann Jansen in Ankara between 1925 and 1927.
The graves of Celâl Esat Arseven and his wife Leman Arseven in Sahrayıcedid Cemetery (March 2022)
He attended the 1st History Congress in 1932. He served as the President of Kadıköy Community Center between 1933 and 1937.
He entered the Parliament as an Istanbul deputy in 1942. He was elected as Giresun MP in 1946.
On October 25, 1971, when he was 96 years old, the State Cultural Gift was given to him by the then Minister of Culture, Talat Halman.
He died in Istanbul on November 13, 1971, at the age of 96. His grave is in the Sahrayi Cedid cemetery in Erenköy.

Some of his works
Turkish Art History 4 volumes,
Art Encyclopedia 5 volumes,
Architectural History,
Public Art,
Turkish Art,
urbanism,
Old Istanbul Abidat and Mebanisi,
Selimi Salis (written with Salah Cimcoz - theater),
Clockmaker (operetta),
Şaban (the first Turkish opera represented in Vienna)
My Memories of Art and Politics