As the first and last Orientalist painter of the Ottoman Empire, Osman Hamdi Bey had the unique opportunity to observe the East from within. Rather than depicting the “other” as a number of foreign painters did, he portrayed his own culture and propounded his own cultural perceptions. His works, which often reflect the Ottoman tradition and culture, manifest a meticulous and realistic approach to all the elements featured in a scene, ranging from daily life to architecture and from objects to ornamentation. Osman Hamdi is an artist who not only incorporates the use of figures, but also introduces an intellectual dimension to Turkish painting. 

　The Tortoise Trainer should thus be evaluated in light of this dual aspect. Osman Hamdi, who often used his own photographs as models in his figurative compositions, once again repeats the same technique in this painting and depicts himself in the appearance of a dervish. The architectural décor suggests that the scene takes place in one of the upper-story chambers of Bursa’s Yeşil Camii (Green Mosque). Dressed as a dervish and slightly bent over, a man is examining in a contemplative fashion, the tortoises roaming on the floor. He sports an araqiyya, a flattish skull cap commonly worn by dervishes, with a destar, or sash wrapped around it. He wears a belted, long red robe the borders of which are embroidered; his feet are clad in çedik, or slippers for indoor wear, made of yellow sahtiyan, Moroccan (goatskin) leather. He holds a ney in one of the hands he has clasped behind; a nakkare, or a small kettledrum hangs down from his back. While all these details do not necessarily signify allegiance to a particular sect, they are nonetheless elements derived from the attire of a dervish. The dervish is to train these thick-shelled, laggardly tortoises not by using force, but rather by playing the ney and nakkare, namely through art.

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　The painting introduced as “L’homme aux Tortues” in the Salon exhibition organized by Société des Artistes Français on 1 May 1906 in Paris, and briefly referred to in English as “Tortoises” in one of the exhibition catalogues, is none other than Osman Hamdi Bey’s famous work that has come to be known as the “Tortoise Trainer.” The date “1906” on the painting suggests that the painting was completed in the early months of that year in order to be included in the exhibition held in May. Osman Hamdi executed another painting of the same composition in a smaller scale, though withsome differences in detail. This second version includes a dedication by Osman Hamdi Bey tohis in-law Salih Münir Paşa.

　Osman Hamdi thanks him for sending an issue of Tour de Monde, which he admits to having read with great pleasure. The said issue of the journal includes an article written by Swiss diplomat Aimé Humbert, who conveys his impressions of Japan and speaks of Korean tortoise trainers. Illustrated with an engraving, the article further reveals that accompanied by the rhythm of their trainer’s small drum, the tortoises learn to walk in a single line and pile on top of one another on a low table. It can be assumed that the article and engraving in question gave the initial idea of inspiration to Osman Hamdi Bey for his painting.

　In the scene by Osman Hamdi, we see a male figure in oriental attire, pensively watching the tortoises eating the greenery on the floor. He holds a ney in his hand and carries a percussion instrument –possibly nakkare or kudüm– on his back. The pediment of the lancet window in front of which he stands bears the following inscription: “Closeness to the beloved (Muhammad), healing to the heart.” Frequently appearing in other paintings by the artist, the upper room of Bursa’s Yeşil Cami (Green Mosque) is used as the space in this work. Similarly, the figure is modeled after Osman Hamdi himself. While the instruments he carries might suggest that he is a dervish, hisheadgear is strikingly similar to the headgear of “Kurd of Mardin,” which is described in Elbise-i Osmaniye as “felt kalpak wrapped in kerchiefs.” It is known that during the time he spent in Vienna, Osman Hamdi had several photographs taken in this costume. As often encountered in his other paintings, the artist must have used various photographs for the details of figure and space.

　“The Tortoise Trainer” is one of Osman Hamdi Bey’s five works included in the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Orientalist Painting Collection. These works form a group that exemplifies the different subjects and stylistic approaches, which the artist ventured into. Like “The Tortoise Trainer,” the “Two Musician Girls” is also a work in which the orientalist tendency stands out. The work, which the artist created in order for it to be sent to an exhibition, reflects the stylistic approach of French academic painting. The “Shepherd Mustafa Pasha Complex in Gebze” is an example of landscape paintings using free brush technique, depicting the views from Gebze and Eskihisar regions. The paintings “Girl with Pink Cap” and “Kökenoğlu Rıza Efendi” are examples of Osman Hamdi’s portraits of people in his circle of family and friends. In this regard, Osman Hamdi Bey’s paintings included in the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Orientalist Painting Collection form a whole that encapsulates and thus offers the opportunity to better understand and accurately evaluate the artist’s production.

 

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