The painting and sculpture art in Ahmed Midhat Efendis novels

The concept of aesthetics, which human beings seek as a necessity in their life after their basic needs, embodies and materializes with fine arts. Although fine arts are divided into a number of branches regarding the different materials they use, there is a constant interaction between all branches of art. Literature, which is a branch of fine arts, is in direct or indirect relationship with other branches of art. In particular, there is an intense relationship between literature and the arts of painting and sculpture. With the Tanzimat, the Ottomans turned their direction to the West. Starting from the Tanzimat, when the first steps of Turkish Westernization were taken, the art of painting, which was previously avoided, began to enter the Turkish society and therefore into the Turkish novel. The art of painting took place in the novels written in this period as an indicator of social change. Ahmed Midhat Efendi, a Tanzimat-era novelist, is one of the writers who most used this effect in his novels. The aim of this study is to reveal the reflection of painting and sculpture art on Ahmed Midhat Efendi’s novels in the Tanzimat period, which is the first stage of Turkish Westernization. In this study, the elements of painting along with sculpture art in Ahmed Midhat Efendi’s novels will be explained with examples, and the reason why Ahmed Midhat Efendi included these arts in these works will be questioned.