Bedri Rahmi Eyupoglu

Hi guys,

I’d like to tell you more about Turkish artists. As you know Turkey is a very unique country; you can be influenced by history, nature, architecture, food and daily life.  Therefore, Turkish artists have lots of things to be impressed by. 

Bedri Rahmi Eyupoglu was one of them. He was a poet, painter, sculptor and ceramist, who also made stained-glass. He lived from 1913 to 1975. Until he died, he taught painting and art to many students.  I can say they are lucky students; I wish I had a chance to study under him.

 He was really talented and creative. He used different materials and styles. He lived in France and worked under Andre Lhote in Paris. While he was there he found works of Dufy and Matisse, who influenced Bedri Rahmi.  You might know that Matisse is one of my favorite painters.  

He lived in the USA for two years and observed paintings, as well as different art materials.  

He was a student of Nazmi Ziya and Ibrahim Calli. After he took lessons, Calli told him, “You’ve got everything you need; now you have to go and see abroad.”

When he was a student, he always had problems with math, and even art classes were a struggle for him. He made his brother to do his painting home work.  When he met his art teacher, everything changed and with his teacher’s support he started studying at Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul.  He also started writing poetry during his high school years and was published years later.

Even though he was influenced by some other artists, he eventually found his own style, painting traditional things like streets, people, Anatolian rugs, culture, ceramic, and miniature. He thought that folk art was the best.

He won many awards.

I like his paintings and poems. He said “I wasn’t born as a painter; I studied to be a painter.” That’s why I keep working and working!

 You can find more information about Bedri Rahmi on this web site, http://www.bedrirahmi.com/

Thanks for your time, guys.  Let me know if you have any question!

Gunes Yilmaz