II. Meşrutiyet Dönemi’nden Bir Mimari Temsil Örneği: Levon Güreğyan’ın 1911 Torino Uluslararası Endüstri ve Çalışma Sergisi’ndeki Osmanlı Pavyonu
Hatice AdıgüzelOsmanlı Devleti, Sanayi Devrimi’nin bir sonucu olarak ortaya çıkan uluslararası sergilere 1851 Londra Sergisi’nden itibaren katılmaya özen göstermiştir. Sultan II. Abdülhamid döneminde, Batı’ya karşı modern bir toplum ve İslam dünyasının lideri görüntüsü sunma idealiyle, bu katılımlar yoğunlaşarak farklı bir boyut kazanmıştır. II. Meşrutiyet Dönemi’nde de Osmanlı hükümeti bu sergilerin bir parçası olmaya devam etmiştir. Bu makale, II. Meşrutiyet Dönemi’nde Osmanlı Devleti’nin katıldığı 1911 Torino Uluslararası Endüstri ve Çalışma Sergisi’ne odaklanmaktadır. Makale, ağırlıklı olarak Osmanlı Arşivi’nde konuyla ilgili bulunan belgeler ve İtalya’da serginin gerçekleştiği dönemde yapılan yayınların değerlendirilmesiyle hazırlanmıştır. Yapılan araştırmalar sonucunda, Osmanlı’nın 1911 Torino sergisine katılım süreci, arka plandaki aktörleri, inşa edilen pavyonun mimari ve üslup özellikleri, mimarı gibi konularda tespitler ortaya konulmuştur. Bu sergi için inşa edilen Osmanlı pavyonu mimar Levon Güreğyan tarafından tasarlanmıştır. Bilinen görsel verilerine ek olarak, pavyonun Güreğyan imzalı planı ilk kez bu çalışmada tanıtılmaktadır. Pavyon, Osmanlı’da Birinci Ulusal Mimarlık Akımının egemen olduğu bir dönemde Oryantalist üslubuyla dikkat çekmektedir. Çalışmada Oryantalist üslubun bu geç örneğinin Osmanlı’da Tanzimat sonrası oluşan milli mimari kimliği ile ilişkisi tartışılmaktadır.
An Example of Architectural Representation from the Second Constitutional Era: The Ottoman Pavilion by Léon Gurekian at the Turin International Exhibition of Industry and Labor in 1911
Hatice AdıgüzelThe Ottoman Empire took care to attend the international exhibitions that emerged because of the Industrial Revolution, beginning from the first event organized in London in 1851. During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, this involvement increased in line with the idea of presenting a modern society and the leader of the Islamic world to the West. The Ottoman government continued to be a part of these exhibitions during the Second Constitutional Era. This paper focuses on the Turin International Exhibition of Industry and Labor 1911, which the Ottoman Empire attended during the Second Constitutional Era. The paper is largely based on an evaluation of relevant documents obtained from the Ottoman Archives and Italian publications from that period. Studies revealed information on the Ottoman participation in Turin International 1911, actors in the background, architectural and stylistic characteristics of the pavilion, and the architect, Léon Gurekian. In addition to known visual data, the plan of the pavilion signed by Gurekian is introduced in this paper for the first time. The pavilion stands out with an Orientalist style during a period dominated by the First National Architectural Movement in the Ottoman Empire. The paper discusses the relationship of this late example of the Orientalist style with the Ottoman national architectural identity that emerged after the Tanzimat reform period.
International exhibitions have been organized in the Western world from the mid19th century onwards because of the industrialization and the search for new markets. The Ottoman Empire took care to attend these exhibitions, beginning from the first event organized in London in 1851, in parallel with the industrialization and modernization programs of the Tanzimat Era. Participating countries in international exhibitions would exhibit their national architectural identities in addition to their industrial technologies and products, especially following the Paris exhibition of 1867. The Ottoman Empire attended these exhibitions with an architectural representation in keeping with the image of the “East” in the Western imagination. Within this context, a sort of Islamic eclecticism was devised by a combination of architectural shapes gathered from Ottoman structures from the past and European-oriented Orientalist elements (mostly from Maghreb-Andalusia). This Orientalist style also manifested itself on buildings erected within the empire’s borders and constituted the character of Ottoman pavilions at international exhibitions.
Ottoman participation in international exhibitions took a new form during the long reign of Abdülhamid II as the purpose of presenting a modern society and the leader of the Islamic world to the West gained strength. This period saw a high level of participation in international exhibitions, mostly by building a pavilion. The Ottoman Empire tried to be a part of international exhibitions during the Second Constitutional Era, albeit at a lower scale. The architectural manifestation of the changing ideology with constitutionalism was named the First National Architectural Movement. While this style was preferred in the official buildings built in many parts of the state, it is seen that the Orientalism that emerged after the Tanzimat continued to be used in the Ottoman architectural representations at the international exhibitions of this period.
Although there is a large body of research on the 19th century Ottoman participation in international exhibitions, limited research exists on exhibitions with Ottoman participation in the early 20th century. This paper addresses Ottoman participation in the Turin International Exhibition of Industry and Labor in 1911. The paper is largely based on an evaluation of relevant documents obtained from the Ottoman Archives and Italian publications from that year. Studies revealed information on the Ottoman participation in the exhibition, which has not been studied in detail yet, as well as actors in the background, architectural and stylistic characteristics of the pavilion built in Turin, and the architect.
Turin International Exhibition of Industry and Labor 1911 was among the events marking the 50th establishment anniversary of the Kingdom of Italy. As part of the celebrations, international exhibitions were organized in Turin, Florence, and Rome, which served as capitals of the kingdom after 1861. The Ottoman Empire initially planned to participate in Rome and Turin exhibitions. Many documents are available in the Ottoman Archives related to the preparations for these attendances. The Ottoman Embassy in Rome and the Ministry of Trade and Public Works assumed principal roles in organizing the exhibitions. To encourage participation, officials from the embassy in Rome penned various letters, which provide information on locations where exhibitions were planned, participating countries, as well as dimensions, costs, and styles of the pavilions.
The Ottoman government, possibly due to concerns such as time constraints and financial difficulties, withdrew from the Rome exhibition in late 1910, and only attended the Turin exhibition with a pavilion. In February 1911, Ali Rıza Bey, Consul of Ancona, was appointed as the Ottoman commissioner of the Turin exhibition. Construction of the Ottoman pavilion was completed around the same time. The pavilion was designed by Léon Gurekian, an Ottoman architect who was born in Istanbul, studied architecture in Rome and designed and constructed buildings in Istanbul and Sofia. He moved to Rome with his family in 1907. The fact that Gurekian had demonstrated his architectural ability with buildings he produced in Istanbul, had a grasp of Ottoman architecture, and resided in Italy must have been factors when the Ottoman government commissioned him to design the pavilion.
Photos of the Ottoman pavilion designed by Léon Gurekian were printed in Italian publications from the exhibition period, Ottoman newspapers and various postcards. In 2010, Armen Gurekian, grandson of Léon Gurekian, published a watercolor perspective drawing of the pavilion. Within the context of this study, the ground floor plan of the pavilion was obtained in the Ottoman Archives. According to this plan which is introduced in this study for the first time and additional images of the structure, the pavilion had a square plan. The exterior mass was in the shape of an Ottoman mansion with Orientalist characteristics in style. It is understood that a document found in the Ottoman Archives and submitted to the Ottoman government helped determine the style. This document is a letter signed by Seyfeddin Bey, who worked as an undersecretary at the embassy in Rome during the period of exhibition preparations and was appointed as commissioner of the Turin exhibition before Ali Rıza Bey, and relays general information on the exhibitions in Rome and Turin. In this letter, Seyfeddin Bey also expresses an opinion, proposing that the Ottoman pavilion as a representative structure should stand out with “magnificent architecture” and decorations, like the Green Mosque in Bursa. In this paper, the Orientalist structure designed by Gurekian, which was possibly inspired by this proposal, is associated with the Ottoman architectural discourse that emerged after the Tanzimat. The paper discusses the significance of the Green Mosque and other early Ottoman buildings in the concept of “national architecture”, which was created during the late Tanzimat era. Moreover, this pavilion example reveals that the Orientalist style was still in use in Ottoman architectural representations at international exhibitions during a period dominated by the First National Architectural Movement. The architectural repertoire implemented by Léon Gurekian in Istanbul indicates a familiarity with this style on his part. Therefore, this paper emphasizes that the tendencies of architects as well as patrons and the elite class guiding them were determinant factors during the selection of style for buildings.
