Süleyman Seyyid

Who is Süleyman Seyyid? (1842-1913)

He is among the first generation painters of Turkish painting. He taught art in military schools for a total of 36 years; He painted many still lifes and landscape paintings from Üsküdar, whose subjects he saw as a source of beauty.
He was born in Istanbul in 1842. He is the son of Hacı İsmail Efendi, one of the Anatolian Maltepe notables. His grandfather was a famous mother-of-pearl inlay master. After completing his primary and secondary education at Maltepe and Maçka Military Schools, he entered the Military Academy. He attracted the attention of his teachers Schranz and Kes with the charcoal and watercolor studies he made while he was in High School and Harbiye.
He was among the first students sent to Mekteb-i Osmani, which was opened in Paris in 1862, and received education at this school. After the closure of this school in 1875, he entered the workshop of the painter Cabanel (1880 – 1889), one of the famous teachers of the period. After staying in Paris for eight years, he continued his studies in Italy for a year. He returned to Istanbul in 1870.
After returning home, Süleyman Seyyid was appointed as an art teacher at the Military Academy, but due to disagreements with the school’s other art teacher, Şeker Ahmet Pasha, regarding art approaches that started during his student years in Paris and grew gradually, he resigned from his position and moved to Kuleli Military High School in 1880. . In 1884, he became an art teacher at the Military Medical High School and continued his artistic life and teaching for 26 years until 1910.
Süleyman Seyyit Bey worked as a teacher in military schools for a total of 36 years; He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. For this reason, he is known among officers and doctors. Süleyman Seyyid, who won a medal at the Paris World Exhibition with his famous still life called Lilacs, contributed to the Westernization movement during the Tanzimat period by arranging the course programs at the first establishment of Mekteb-i Mülkiye-i Şahane, and also took on the duties of art writer and translator in İstikbal and Osmanlı newspapers.