An examination on the formation of the palace painting collection during the Abduldamid II's reign

This thesis based on The Palace Painting Collection that was constituted during Ottoman Empire and it mainly focuses on its progress during the Abdulhamid II's reign (1876-1909). First, the relationship between Ottoman Palace and the western style of painting was discussed. The role of the painting in Ottoman Court initiated during Mehmed II's reign (1451-1481) and became visible again with Mahmud II's (1808-1839) "Tasvir-i Humayun". As a result of the Westernization habit, painting created its own function field while has been seen as visual manifestation of the reforms. During Abdulmecid's reign (1839-1861), power shift from Topkapı to Dolmabahce indicated a new thought trend and Dolmabahce became the new symbol of the period. Furthermore, the idea of building an equivalence with the European courts defined the furnishing program directly. In Abdulaziz's reign (1861-1876), who was a painter himself, purchases were prominently increased. Paintings were purchased by aide-de-camp Seker Ahmed Pasa who provided the same service for Abdulhamid II. The developments in fine arts during the Abdulhamid II's reign was another focus point of this study. By the second half of the 1800s, Pera was a cultural and artistic center of Istanbul and a display for painting-oriented activies. Ottoman and Western painters developed a painting production environment in Pera while the collection was expanding in an idiosyncratic way with the help of the new actors. In conclusion, it's seen that Abdulhamid II actively patronaged the arts, saw the painting as an area of representation, have benefited the art atmosphere of Istanbul to develop The Palace Painting Collection. The paintings which were added to the collection during a thirty-three year period were itemised and it was seen that the collection bears traces of the Sultan's support that has shown to painters. Keywords: Palace Painting Collection, Abdulhamid II, Osmanlı Palace, painting, Westernization.