Yervant Voskan (1855 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

– 1914 in Istanbul) was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, instructor, and administrator. He is the first known sculptor in modern Turkish sculpture history and as the first sculpture teacher at the Sanay-i Nefise he educated the first generation of Turkish sculptors.

Early life and studies

Yervant Voskan was born in 1855 in

Samatya Samatya (; ) is a quarter of the Fatih district of Istanbul. It is located along the Marmara Sea, and borders to the west on the neighborhood of Yedikule (the "Castle of the Seven Towers"). Etymology The name originates from the Greek word '' ...

, Istanbul into an

family as the son of writer Hagop Voskan (1825 – 1907). His grandfather was Voskan Gotogyan of

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

, a foundryman at the Imperial Mint. After receiving his primary education from his father, he attended the Catholic Makruhyan Armenian School in

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

and the Pera Hayr Ananya school. In 1866, with the support of his family, he went to Venice to study at the Moorat-Raphael College. There he was a student of Luigi Qura. Later he continued his studies in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

at the Rome Imperial Art School as a student of Enrico Bektti and Cirolana Mazzini. In 1878 he was sent to Paris on a state scholarship to be educated in sculpture.

Career

Upon his return to the Ottoman Empire in 1881 he aided in the founding of the department of

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

at the Sanâyi-i Nefîse Mekteb-i Âlisi in 1883. It was one if the schools first departments and Voskan was its first teacher. He began teaching sculpture in the academy on March 1, 1883. At the time, he was the only professor of sculpture in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The first time period was spent looking for students to teach as it was difficult at the time to find students who wanted to study sculpture. Eventually

İhsan Özsoy Ihsan (also transliterated as Ehsan; Arabic, Persian and or , ) is an Arabic masculine given name. Given name ; Ihsan * İhsan Oktay Anar (born 1960), Turkish writer * İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil (1908–1993), Turkish politician * Ihsan Danish (1 ...

İsa Behzat İsa Behzat Bey (1875–1916) was a Turkish people, Turkish sculptor. He is known for his portraits, busts and reliefs, and being one of the art forms first Turkish practicers. He was an important pioneer in the field of fine arts leading up to t ...

, Mehmet Bahri and Mesrur Izzet would become Osgan Efendis first students and would be the first representatives of Turkish sculptors in sculpture history. In his 32 years at the school, Oskan would teach the first generation of Turkish sculptors. Voskan is credited with educating the first generation of sculptors of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Archeological work

Along with

Osman Hamdi Bey Osman Hamdi Bey (30 December 1842 – 24 February 1910) was an Ottoman Turkish administrator, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering painter. He was the Ottoman Empire's first modern archaeologist, and is regarded as the ...

, Voskan conducted the first scientific based archaeological in the history of the

. His archaeological research included the

Commagene Commagene () was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Orontid dynasty, Orontids, a dynasty of Iranian peoples, Iranian origin, that had ruled over the Satrapy of Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ...

tomb-sanctuary in

Nemrut Dağı Mount Nemrut or Nemrud (; ; ; Greek language, Greek: Όρος Νεμρούτ) is a mountain in southeastern Turkey, notable for the summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century ...

in south-eastern

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and the

Alexander Sarcophagus The Alexander Sarcophagus is a late 4th century BC Hellenistic stone sarcophagus from the Royal necropolis of Ayaa near Sidon, Lebanon. It is adorned with high relief carvings of Alexander the Great and scrolling historical and mythological na ...

Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...

. He was the chief restorer of the Sarcophagus. Yervant Voskan eventually retired from the academy in 1908 and died only 6 years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voskan, Yervant 1855 births 1914 deaths Artists from Istanbul Armenians from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century painters from the Ottoman Empire Armenian archaeologists 19th-century Armenian painters 20th-century Armenian sculptors 20th-century Armenian painters Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery Archaeologists from Istanbul