Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Sanat Tarihi Yilligi, sa.33, ss.219-239, 2024 (ESCI)
Azure painting with gilded stars was implemented on the ceilings of numerous monumental buildings built during different periods, initially from ancient Egyptian architecture to ancient Roman, Byzantine, gothic, and Renaissance architecture. Prominent examples include XIX. Dynasty tombs in Thebes, Galla Placidia Mausoleum and San Vitale Church in Ravenna, San Marco Church in Venice, Sistine Chapel in Vatican, and Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Apparently, it moved from Egypt to Roman territories, including the capital city of Constantinople, and spread to Europe in the Middle Ages through mutual interaction with the Byzantine Empire. Through the revivalist architectural styles dominant in the 19th century, this decoration became a substantial component of neoclassical architecture and especially neogothic architecture in Western culture. The 19th century was in the same way the period of revivalism and eclecticism in the westernised Ottoman architecture as in Europe and the United States. Many churches built in the 19th century in Istanbul, especially Orthodox and Catholic examples, contain the mentioned ceiling decoration. Yet in the period of Sultan II. Abdülhamid (1876-1909) the same decoration was also used in mosques and synagogues, including the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque and Galata Ashkenazi Synagogue, indicating that it came into fashion among all abrahamic religions in the city. Academic research on the II. Abdülhamid era ornamentation considers the decoration as a part of orientalism and Islamic art. In this paper, the origin of the decoration and its traces within different cultures have been put forward. Moreover, it has been seen that it became an imperial symbol during the reign of Sultan II. Abdülhamid. The main aim of this paper is to introduce the fact that it became a fashion in the same era at the places of worship in Istanbul and its close vicinity regardless of religious differences.