The historical narrative of Cihat Burak's painting

Cihat Burak witnessed great changes during his lifetime. He personally experienced phases of great change, from politic regimes to lifestyles, from his appearances of big cities to the districts that he lived in. Besides, classical artifacts such as Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname (Journey Notes), along with the effects of the old Istanbul life he witnessed in his early periods on his personality and worldview, also caused him to have a historical consciousness. It's observed in the paintings of Burak, who has no subject limit in his artwork, that historical matters are directly handled, or references are made through various images. Due to the historical backgrounds in Burak's artworks, The Turkish poet Cemal Süreya defined Cihat Burak as ''Extreme Modern Ottoman''. In this study, the artworks of Cihat Burak are examined within scope of historical subjects and connections they contain. Initially, Burak's life and understanding of art are discussed. While dealing with the life of the artist, the events that affect his art and artistic productivity in general are emphasized. Under the title of ''Understanding of Art'' Burak's artistic production techniques and his view on art are examined. From the third chapter on, Cihat Burak's paintings containing historical subjects have been examined. First of all, Burak's interest in history and the effects of this interest on his way of thinking are mentioned. The works discussed in this study have been gathered under five subtitles due to their similarities in terms of subject. Under the title of ''Personalities'', Burak's paintings on historical figures were examined. Under the title of ''Myths, Narratives'', the artist's paintings on old myths and folk tales were emphasized. In the ''Periods, Events, Reminiscence'' section, the paintings of various historical periods and events in artist's artworks were discussed İn the ''Lives, Memories'' chapter, Burak's artworks with autobiographical elements as well as his paintings of people from different social segments of different periods are emphasized. İn the ''Memory Spaces'' section, the artist's works reflecting the architectural form and content from different periods are emphasized. In the conclusion part, the historical narrative in Cihat Burak's paintings has been analyzed. In the fourth chapter, the effects of Cihat Burak's artistic expression in Güzer Emre Canko's paintings are emphasized. As a result of these examinations, Cihat Burak's painting was researched on historical subjects Keywords: Cihat Burak, Paintings, History, Historical, Narratives