The Lost Structures of Istanbul in the Context of Ottoman Visual Sources: Examples from the Westernization Period

The Westernisation seen in Ottoman architecture from the XVIIIth century onwards was first applied in water architecture in fountains and fountains. Ottoman architects and craftsmen became acquainted with new styles such as Baroque-Rococo and Ampir and the motifs in these styles through the drawings, paintings and engravings carried by artists (decorators, engineers, officers) working in the embassies of France and other European countries or working on their own. As a result of the aforementioned acquaintance, these styles and motifs were adapted and handled in Ottoman architecture and these structures were mentioned in the works and inscriptions of the period with names such as ‘Tarz-ı Cedid’, ‘Nev İcad’. In the XVIIIth century, Ottoman Architecture added the qualities of ‘being new, not having been done before’ to its repertoire. In this century, the classical plan schemes and the old Ottoman motifs included in the decoration programme of the buildings continued to be used, and towards the end of the century, these elements were replaced by Baroque motifs.

In the XVIIIth century, military experts from the West were brought and employed, but no European architect was assigned until the time of Sultan Selim III. In this period, French painter and architect Antoine-Ignace Melling (1763-1831) came to Istanbul and made his artistic mark on the period by painting and architectural works in the city between 1785-1801. Melling, who worked for both the palace and the sultan's sister Hatice Sultan, built the first Neo-Renaissance style building in Ottoman architecture. The building in question was built for Hatice Sultan in the Deftardarburnu neighbourhood of the Bosphorus. This building, which has not survived to the present day, is now only observed in engravings. Artists, who were in the entourage of European ambassadors or who came to Istanbul to document their observations of the Ottoman Empire or who were curious about the East, painted panoramas of Istanbul, the palace surroundings, the urban fabric, scenes of daily life and architectural structures. These engravings and paintings made by artists are documentary visual sources. They are indispensable elements for researchers, especially as the main sources that enable us to visually identify the structures that have not survived to our time.

In this study; the reflection of the lost buildings in Baroque, Ampir, Neo-Renaissance, Eclectic-Orientalist design and Art-Nouveau style seen in the architecture of the Westernisation period on engravings, paintings and photographs has been revealed, and it has been tried to emphasise that these works are visual documents.

Keywords

Westernization,Engraving, Painting, Photography