Osman Hamdi Bey studies at Google Arts platform

Scientific research and conservation studies of six paintings by Osman Hamdi Bey, kept in the Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum Painting Collection, have been moved to the Google Arts & Culture platform, one of the most important digital platforms of the culture and arts world.

The research, also the source of the exhibition titled "Osman Hamdi Bey Beyond Vision," which can be visited at Atlı Köşk since June 6, 2018, was opened to international access.

The online exhibition, which can be visited with Turkish and English language options, provides detailed information on the techniques and material structures of the works attributed to Osman Hamdi Bey, as well as making scientific methods understandable to know more about the production of an artist.

The project, which comparatively studies the artist's paintings " Flowers in a Vase" "Hodja Reading the Qur'an," "Kokona Despina," "Portrait of Naile Hanim," "Petitioner" and "The Mosque," creates a road map not for the conservation work not only in Turkey, but also in the world.

The "Scientific Analysis and Conservation of the Osman Hamdi Bey Paintings," which are the source of the exhibition, was initiated in 2016 within the scope of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch's international "Art Conservation Project." This is the most detailed study on Osman Hamdi Bey paintings in the world.

The first step of the project consisted of subjecting the paintings to X-ray imaging to reveal Osman Hamdi Bey's work technique and the paintings' present condition. This was followed by the chemical analyses of the elements of the paintings. The micro samples taken were embedded in capsules with epoxy to preserve their characteristics and analyzed with the SEM-EDS (scanning electron microscope...