The word "portrait," which derives from "protraho" meaning "to copy" in Latin, is one of the most important fields in the history of painting. Portraiture was born from death cults and funeral rituals as a method of leaving a mark of existence in the world, which in time became a testimony left from the past to the future, increasing the number of portraits depicted and the development of portraiture painting itself.
Portraiture holds an important place in Turkish art by reflecting a reading into the history of the social and mental transformation of not just artists and their models, but of Turkish society as well.
The comprehensive Ahmet Merey Art Collection is composed of 450 portraits. The collection includes art works from the earliest period of Turkish art up until the present by important artists and their most valuable work, making it the most important portrait collection in Turkish art.
Ninety artworks have been brought together in the exhibition "Silent Witnesses of Time - A Selection of Portraits and Self-Portraits in Turkish Art from the Merey Art Collection" that brings works by the most important artists of our country to the public. From İbrahim Çallı up to today's artists, it is observes the development of Turkish modernism with examples from almost all periods and schools of Turkish painting. The exhibition, which will remain open between Oct. 6 and Feb. 17, 2019 and can be visited every day except Monday at Antalya Culture and Arts.
