Avni Arbas

Avni Arbaş, born in İstanbul in 1919, also died in Turkey, in İzmir in 2003. The painter, is often counted among the group of newcomers or referred to as one of the port painters along with Turgut Atalay, Selim Turan and Agop Arad. During his time at the academy, he was a student of İbrahim Çallı and Leopold Levy, whom he called his master. After receiving a scholarship from the French government, he decided to stay in France. Arbaş was appreciated by Picasso, but the latter was probably not the only one who could have had a great influence on Arbaş’s individual style. In his portraits and landscapes, Arbas often drew on the Post-Impressionist tradition and thus on Symbolism and the École de Pont-Aven. Thus he immortalised scenes from the Turkish War of Independence and portrayed Atatürk, who was a friend of his father, the first president and founder of the Republic of Turkey.