Gündelik Hayata Dokunan Bir Ressam, Mehmed Ruhi Bey

Although its origins go back to the Renaissance, in the art of painting, depicting everyday life is a phenomenon that began to refine in the 17th century with Dutch painting. In the course time, paintings of everyday life which would be recognized as a genre of painting and become one of the primary instruments of understanding the depicted society, undertakes a specific mission for figuring out the societies of the 20th century. In case of Turkish painting, the depiction of such scenes begins with the literary works produced after the Tanzimat reform era, and their adoption onto canvas painting takes place in the 2nd Constitutionalist Period. The works of Mehmed Ruhi Bey, who is among the painters of the 1914 Generation, have a specific importance in Turkish painting. Mehmed Ruhi Bey receives an Academic education based on Classism, emphasizing beauty, nobility, balance and idealization. He get an academic education, but he makes detailed realistic depictions against academism.The works of the artist, who features figures from the society and their lives within their whole reality, carries some documentary aspects for revealing the socio-economic profile of the depicted era. This study, which is a research article, is a qualitative study based on descriptive model. An evaluation has been made within the period by emphasizing the art life of Mehmed Ruhi. Considering the style and art works of Mehmed Ruhi, which was aimed in the subject study; why did the artist who received an academic education adopt Realism? Why did he follow a different path from his contemporaries? This study, aims to search for answers to these questions in his style. Actually he is among the leading artists of Turkish painting by describing new topics.