Synthesis Of Eastern And Western Art: Art Nouveau Images On Ottoman Porcelain

Abstract

By the end of 19th century Art Nouveau movement has became influential in Istanbul with the impact of modernization movements. This movement was initially accepted in the Ottoman Empire by the palace and its surroundings. Art Nouveau came into the Ottoman world for the first time with the decorative objects that were sent as gifts to the palace and the daily-use wares imported from Europe. By the end of 19th century this movement influenced production of art works, such as architecture, furniture, decorative arts, and literature magazines. Consequently, with introduction of this style in Ottoman community it became popular just like seen in Western countries. In the same period Yildiz Imperial Porcelain Factory (Yildiz Fabrika-I Humayunu) which was a very important attempt for Ottoman industry produced art works since the very first date of its foundation in 1894 until its close in 1909. Those high quality works produced in this factory were able to compete with the European art works produced in Western world. Early period works that were shaped under the impact of Porcelains like French Sevres and Limoges was also closely associated with the conventional Ottoman decoration repertoire. Objects produced in Art Nouveau style in Ottoman Empire differed from the European examples in terms of their decoration programs. In the stage of decoration the objects created by the native and foreign painters used Art Nouveau motives considering Ottoman tastes that can be evaluated as a synthesis of East and Western art. Although Art Nouveau movement varied from region to region, in general the movement carried common characteristics of European countries. On the other hand, withthe impact of Islamic culture this movement gained more stylized interpretation and a characteristic approach different than the Art Nouveau style seen in Europe. Correspondingly, this study tries to evaluate a group of Art Nouveau porcelains produced by the Yildiz Imperial Porcelain Factory which have been hold in several museums in order to draw a framework with the above-mentioned issues.