Examining the woodcuts of Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu in terms of compositional elements and in the context of tokat painted kerchiefs

Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, one of the most important and productive artists of the Republican period and the history of Turkish painting, was interested in traditional Turkish handicrafts and the richness of patterns in these arts with the idea that "Beautiful should be beneficial". According to him, the artist is responsible for his past, his present and his future. Starting from this philosophy, the artist produced prints on fabric according towith technique of Tokat painted kerchiefs in a period of his artistic life. This style of print work was undoubtedly based on Anatolian painted kerchiefs, which were the most influential among the folk art. Tokat region is the first region that comes to mind when it comes to the art of painted kerchiefs in Anatolia. For this reason, this study examines a total of sixteen editions of Bedri Rahmi's eight main types, during this period, in the context of Tokat painted kerchiefs. In this study, the samples were analyzed according to the composition principles and elements. This study attempts to reveal to what extent the artist, who received a westerm art education, combines these two different stylistic traditions and the composition principles and elements he used. In addition, it is important to determine how an artist can branch out by combining his own cultural and traditional pattern understanding with original art education to produce unique artwork that contributed to both fields.