Greek Painters of Istanbul / Istanbullu Rum Ressamlar

384 pp, 520 color figures, pb, in Turkish-English bilingual.

It is generally recognized that Greek painters from Istanbul contributed to a great extent to Ottoman and Turkish culture, beginning during the Byzantine era. Even after the end of the Byzantine era, however, Greek artists continued to play an active role in the development of art in Istanbul. Undeniably, one of the results of the Greeks having had to leave Turkey for political reasons has been the removal of an important treasure of art and culture from Istanbul. The beauty and splendor of Istanbul and the recurrent themes of migration and longing, are characteristic of the works of numerous Greek artists who left Istanbul at an early age and who developed or continued their artistic work in Greece or in various European countries.

This book contains the biographies and more than five hundred works of nearly two hundred Greek artists of Istanbul.