Sabiha Bengütaş
"I work on landscape, more often, because it is not possible to fully represent nature in sculpture."
Date of Birth: 1904
Place of Birth: Istanbul
Date of Death: 02/10/1992 1992
Place of Death: Ankara
Burial Site:
Topics
Gallery
Field of Activity
" I was the first female student in the Sculpture Department of the Academy of Fine Arts. It was 1921 and at that time in this department there were only three male students. I prefer to render what I see, and that in the simplest form. I do not copy nature when I render what I see; I add my personal point of view. I have an extraordinary love of nature. I generally work in landscape because it is not possible to express nature in sculpture. Therefore, I satisfy my appetite for nature in painting.
From the standpoint of my temperament, I am not classical or modern. Essentially, style is not in question. What is important is whether artistic values are present or not. The great artists considered to be "modern" worked in classical modes for many years. With regard to the formation of "schools" of art, however many artists there are, there are that many theories. But are not emotion and truthfulness the essential base and foundation of all of them?
In accordance with the reasoning I set forth above, I am an exponent of observation and investigation, not imitation. Art, above all, should be personal."
(Sabiha Bengütaş)
Source: Sabiha Bengütaş web site
Expositions
(Selected)- 1925Galatasaray Exposition
- 1926 Galatasaray Exposition, Istanbul
- December 1960- January 5th, 1961 Turkish American Society Gallery, personel exhibition
Sabiha Bengitaş is the first woman artist to participate in the Galatasay Exposition.
Works
Sculptures
- Taksim Cumhuriyet statue (with sculptors Pietro Canonica and Hadi Bara), Istanbul
- Statue of Atatürk in the garden of the presidential palace, Çankaya, Ankara
- İnönü statue, Mudanya
Busts
- Abdülhak Hamid
- Ahmet Haşim
- Namık ismail
- Bedia Muvahhit
- Prof. Dr. Akil Muhtar Özden
- Hakkı Şinasi Paşa
- Hikmet Bey
- Ali Fuat Cebesoy
- Mevhibe İnönü
- Hasan Ali Yücel
- Josef Pálenicek
- Aysel Öymen
- Roy Kohler
- Ali İhsan Kalmaz
Awards
- 1938 Winner of the Atatürk Sculpture Competition and the İnönü Sculpture Competition
Memberships
(No information available)
Education
- Primary school: Eyüp Sultan Reşadiye Numune Mektebi (now known as Eyüp Anatolian High School), Istanbul
- French Catholic School, Damascus, Syria
- Köprülü Fuat Pasa School, Büyükada, İstanbul
- 1920 Academy of Fine Arts, Painting Department, Istanbul
- Academy of Fine Arts, Sculpture Department, Istanbul
- 1924 Academy of Fine Arts, Rome
Contributions to Society
(No information available)
Family and Friends
- Mother:Asime
- Father:Ziya
- Adopted daughter:Nurol Bengütaş
- Marriage: Şakir Emin Bengütaş (diplomat)
- Friends: Pietro Canonica (Heykeltraş), Abdülhak Hamid (yazar, diplomat), Rezzan Yalman (Vatan Gazetesi'nin sahibi)
Commemorative Projects
Web Site in Her Memory
Symposium
- Sabiha Bengütaş 1st International Sculpture Symposium, Municipality of Çankaya, Ankara, 14.7.2011.
Further Reading
"Hayal ve Hakikat", istanbulmodern.org, http://www.istanbulmodern.org/tr/sergiler/gecmis-sergiler/hayal-ve-hakikat_23.html
"Dream and Reality", istanbulmodern.org, http://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/dream-and-reality_58.html
Sabiha Bengütaş web page: www.sabihabengutas.co
Sources
Quoted Sources
- Sabiha Bengütaş web site: www.sabihabengutas.com
Source of Visual Images
- Sabiha Bengütaş web site:www.sabihabengutas.com
Acknowledgments
The Istanbul Women's Museum is grateful to Burcu Pelvanoğlu for her support in producing the Sabiha Bengütaş introductory page.
Translation into English: Emre Aslay, Chicago Illinois, USA Editing: Margaret Fearey, Milton, Massachusetts, USA ©2012 Meral Akkent