A total of 234 paintings compiled from the valuable collections of the 49th Beyaz Auction will be exhibited at Beyaz Space, the art venue of Beyaz Müzayede in Nişantaşı, between April 26 and May 5. The auction will take place on May 6 at Swissotel Istanbul.
The 49th Beyaz Auction will be presenting a valuable collection bringing together magnificent paintings of leading artists of the Ottoman and the Republic Era's classical art of painting. Halil Pasha'a "Haliç'te Yelkenliler" ("Sailboats on the Golden Horn"), Hodja Ali Rıza's "Sapanca," Nazmi Ziya's "Kandilli Sırtlarından" ("From the Ridges of Kandilli"), "Hamidiye Sebili" ("Hamidiye Fountain") and "Büyükada'da Ağaçlar" ("Trees on Büyükada"), İbrahim Çallı's "Ada'da Bahçede Sohbet" ("Garden Chat on the Island"), Hikmet Onat's "Büyükdere" and "Boğaz Sırtlarından" ("From the Ridges of the Bosporus"), Şevket Dağ's "Cami içi" ("Inside the Mosque"), Sami Yetik's "Kadifekale" and Mahmut Cuda's "Kavun ve Mavi Kase'de Meyveler" ("Melon and Fruits in the Blue Bowl") are among the paintings to be auctioned.
The orientalist section of the Beyaz Auction includes the most classic and dazzling paintings of famous orientalist artists who are known for their paintings of Istanbul. Court painter Fausto Zonaro's "Istanbul Street," "Auto Portrait" and "Sailboats at the Pier in Galata," Germain Fabius Brest's "A Street Scene in Istanbul," Leonardo De Mango's "A Tea Garden in Haydarpaşa," " Franchois Leon Prieur Bardin's "Yeni Camii and Bazaar," "Kireçburnu" and "Sarayburnu from Cihangir," Ludwig Deutsch's "Obedience," Alexei Alexeievich Harlamoff's "Portrait of a Young Girl Wearing a White Veil" and Fabio Fabbi's "Dancing in the Harem Courtyard" are expected to gain the attention of collectors.
A masterpiece of German still life painter, Emilie Preyer, whose paintings are in world museums and prestigious collections, will be displayed at the Beyaz Auction on May 6.
Certified by the St. Petersburg Hermitage Museum and the famous Aivazovsky expert, Gianni Caffiero, Ivan Aivazovsky's "View of Istanbul in Moonlight" is the favorite piece of the auction, and it is expected to be sold between TL 450,000 to TL 900,000 ($111,024 to $222,048).
ABOUT AIVAZOVSKY
Born in 1817 in Teodosia in Crimea, Aivazovsky was assigned as the assistant of French sea painter Philippe Tanneur upon the request of the Russian Czar in 1835. He served four Russian czars in succession and many noblemen. In 1947, he was promoted as the professor of Petrograd Fine Arts Academy in 1947 and he traveled via ship lead by the famous scientist and founder of Russian Geography Foundation, Admiral F. Lutke, to the Aegean Islands, arriving in Istanbul for the first time in 1845. On his second visit, he gave one of his paintings to Sultan Abdulmecid and in return, was awarded with a fourth rank certificate of achievement by the Sultan. Being amazed by Istanbul, Aivazovsky visited the city many times afterward. Staying for two months in Istanbul in 1874, the painter was introduced to Sultan Abdülaziz by Sakir Balyan, court architect of Dolmabahçe Palace. Completing six paintings out of the 30 paintings ordered by the Sultan in Istanbul and the remaining in Crimea, Aivazovsky was awarded with the second-degree Ottoman achievement award by Sultan Abdulaziz.
The painter gave Sultan Abdulhamid II two paintings of his as a gift in his last visit to Istanbul in 1890 and again the Sultan awarded him with the Mecidi achievement awards. Thirty out of more than 5,000 paintings of Aivazovsky, which are mostly displayed in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Yerevan state museums, are displayed in various collections including Dolmabahçe Palace, the Military Museum, the Naval Museum, the Fener Greek Patriarchate and the Istanbul Kumkapı Armenian Patriarchate.