Musician Portraits From the Ottoman Bureaucracy
Navigating the Ambiguity: Fernando De Aranda Under the Patronage of Abdulhamid II
M. İnanç Özekmekçi, C. Burcu KartalThe patronage of artists by the Sultan holds a significant place in Turkish culture with a strong patrimonial history of governance. As the understanding of modern statehood began to take root, the relationship of patronage between the Sultan and artists continued, yet the process of integrating into modernity created a transition period that gave rise to a context that was neither fully modern nor fully traditional. Within a context that can be described as ambiguous, this study focuses on the career of Fernando de Aranda, a Spanish pianist employed under patronage relations at the Ottoman Palace during the Hamidian era. Through this case, the study explores the complex relationship between modernity and tradition in the context of patronage relations, shedding light on the continuity and rupture between these two seemingly opposing concepts. Furthermore, this study offers insights into how a patronized Western artist managed to navigate this ambiguity. By scrutinizing the process of Ottoman modernization in relation to the establishment of a modern state, and by drawing upon non-traditional sources, a wealth of intriguing insights can be gleaned, thus affording scholars the opportunity to conduct more thorough and nuanced analyses of this complex and multifaceted topic.