Istanbul Art Museum presents ‘Oh Beautiful Istanbul!’

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul Art Museum presents the portrait of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, painted by the famous painter Bellini and brought into the city by the Istanbul Municipality in recent years, in an exhibition.

"Oh Beautiful Istanbul" (Ah Güzel Istanbul!), the opening exhibition of the Istanbul Art Museum within the body of Istanbul Art in the Haliç (Golden Horn) Shipyard, consists of more than 300 works belonging to 10 collectors.

One of the most comprehensive contemporary art exhibitions in Istanbul, "Oh Beautiful Istanbul" can be visited through Sept. 3.

The exhibition that has been prepared as a collective effort presents leading collections of the art world, including the Bilge Collection, Dr. Şükrü Bozluolcay Collection, Istanbul Municipality Collection, Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu Collection, İyem Collection, Lale-Cengiz Akıncı Collection, Mustafa Taviloğlu Collection, Meir Dalva Collection, Merey Collection and Ulaş Değirmenci Collection.

The exhibition features the artistic accumulation of Istanbul from different periods, different layers and forms of expression. One of the most special pieces in the exhibition is a unique piece from the Istanbul Municipality collection, which is the portrait of the Conqueror of Istanbul, Fatih Sultan Mehmet.

Painted in Venetian painter Gentile Bellini's workshop, it is one of three oil paintings dating back to the 15th century.

The exhibition also offers the audience the opportunity to see the painting of Suleiman the Magnificent by the Italian painter Cristofano Dell'Altissimo and the medallion of Fatih Sultan Mehmet by Costanzo da Ferrara.

More than 300 works of well known Turkish painting are presented in the exhibition, including Süleyman Seyyid, Hoca Ali Rıza, Şehzade Abdülmecid Efendi, Halil Paşa, Avni Lifij, Feyhaman Duran, İbrahim Çallı, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Komet, Avni Arbaş, Eren Eyüboğlu, Fikret Mualla, Hikmet Onat, Fahrelnissa Zeid, Şevket Dağ, Zeki Kocamemi, Burhan Doğançay, Cihat Burak, Hamit Görele, Naile Akıncı, Mehmet Güleryüz, Ferruh Başağa, Neşe Erdok, Tevfik Fikret, Recaizade Mahmut Ekrem, Mıgırdiç Civanyan, Mihri Hanım, Sabri Berkel, Hale Asaf, Fikret Otyam and Selma Gürbüz.

Haliç Shipyard

Following a comprehensive restoration work carried out by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, the Haliç Shipyard, founded by Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 145, was transformed into a public living space under the name "Istanbul Sanat," the city's new culture, art and life center.

In addition to the city's first public contemporary art museum, the Istanbul Art Museum, the historical shipyard also has other venues including a festival area, performing arts center, children's art workshop, restaurant and museum store.

The 600-year-old maritime heritage of the Ottoman Empire and the legacy of Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the architect of the conquest of Istanbul, the shipyard will continue to be an integral part of city life as a new life center in addition to its shipyard function.