CEMAL TOLLU

CEMAL TOLLU (1899), eserleri Galeri Soyut arşivinde yer alan sanatçılardandır. Galeri Soyut sitesinde sanatçının 1 eseri ve 1 sergisi kayıtlı (eserlerin tarih aralığı 1933–1933). Sitedeki eserlerinde en çok görülen teknikler: Tuval üzeri yağlı boya. Eserleri hakkında bilgi ve fiyat için galeriye danışabilirsiniz.

Born in Istanbul in 1899, Cemal Tollu is one of the strongest, most innovative, and most extraordinary figures of Turkish painting. As the eldest of a family of five children, Tollu spent his childhood in Damascus and Diyarbakır due to his father's job. His first contact with art began with painting lessons he took from a retired officer while working on the Hejaz Railways.

War, Hat Store, and Revolution in Art

He took a step towards his dreams by enrolling in the Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi in 1919. However, upon the occupation of Istanbul, he left his education unfinished and joined the National Struggle. Serving on the front as a cavalry lieutenant, Tollu continued to pursue his passion after the victory. He returned to his education in 1926, and after completing it, he went to Munich and Paris to mature his art. He studied with great masters of Western painting such as André Lhote and Fernand Léger.

In 1933, he was among the founders of Group D, which broke new ground in Turkish painting. The group's legendary first exhibition opened in a small hat store (Mimoza) located in Narmanlı Han, upon Tollu's initiative.

Hittite Spirit and Cubist Geometry

During his tenure as the director of the Ankara Archaeology Museum in 1935, he was deeply influenced by the colossal, massive, and plain forms of Hittite reliefs. Blending this ancient heritage of Anatolia with French Cubism, Cemal Tollu immortalized the Anatolian people, their nature, and their labor with sculptural volume and strong lines in works such as "Ankara Keçileri", "Hasat", "Pancar Tarlası", and "Pamuk Toplayanlar".

Academician, Writer, and Painting of the Quest

Serving as a faculty member and department head at the State Academy of Fine Arts for many years, Tollu enriched his art not only with his brush, but also with the mythology books, exhibition reviews, and criticisms he authored. He was deemed worthy of first and second place awards at the State Painting and Sculpture Exhibitions.

Cemal Tollu, who passed away in Istanbul on July 26, 1968, still graces the most magnificent corners of Turkish painting today in the country's most elite public and private collections, notably the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum and the National Library.