Fine arts in Mehmet Rauf's works

Westernization efforts, which started to be seen in Turkish society with the declaration of Tanzimat Edict, completely affected social and cultural life in the second half of the 19th century. During this period, the European lifestyle, which manifested itself in many areas of daily life from educational institutions to dressing style, from table manners to human relations, gave a new direction to art branches such as music, dance and architecture. Turkish people met Western arts of painting, sculpture and cinema for the first time in many big cities including Istanbul. Servet-i Fünûn's authors and poets, who grew up in such an environment of culture and art, showed interest in fine arts with the influence of both education and training, and Western literature that they use as a model. Mehmet Rauf (1875-1931), one of the prominent authors of the Servet-i Fünûn literary community, followed closely the developments both in our country and in the West and wrote for various periodicals and newspapers to increase the demand for art in Turkish people. Apart from his periodical activities, Mehmet Rauf's love of fine arts can be clearly seen in his literary works. This study examines how fine arts, which constitute an important place in Mehmet Rauf's life, are reflected in all his works. In the introduction part of the study, which consists of two main sections, general information is given about the concept "aesthetics", attitude to fine arts during Turkish literature of Tanzimat and Servet-i Fünûn periods. The first part elaborates on Mehmet Rauf's interest in fine arts in his daily life, and the periodical articles in which he expresses his ideas about music, painting, cinema, dance and architecture. The second part attempts at determining in which functions Mehmet Rauf benefits from these branches of art while developing theme and structure in his literary works. Key Words: Mehmet Rauf, Servet-i Fünûn, fine arts, music, dance, painting, architecture, cinema.