Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid
Encyclopedia
Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid or Fakhr un-nisa (1901 in Büyükada
, İstanbul
,
Turkey
– 5 September 1991 in Amman, Jordan) was a Turkish artist
whose work blended the elements of Islamic
and Byzantine art
from the East with abstract
and other influences from the West. She worked in a variety of media such as large oil painting
s, collage
s and stained glass
panels.
She married into the Hashemite
royal family of Iraq
and is the mother of Prince Ra'ad
, the present claimant to the Iraqi throne.
on the island of Büyükada
, one of the Princes' Islands
, (which are part of Istanbul), in 1901 into a prominent Ottoman
family. Her father was Muhammad Şakir Pasha (Kabaağaçlı), an Ottoman diplomat
, brigadier
, photographer, and historian
, and also the brother of Grand Vizier Cevat Pasha. Her mother was Sare Ismet Hanim from Crete
. She was the sister of writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı
(the Fisherman of Halicarnassus/Halikarnas Balıkçısı) and painter Aliye Berger. She was also the aunt of artist Cem Kabaağaç and ceramist Fureya Koral
.
She was educated at Notre Dame de Sion d'Istanbul and Pansion Bnagiotti. She was then one of the first women to attend the Fine Arts Academy (Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi) in Istanbul
, later studying at the Académie Ranson
in Paris under Roger Bissiere
and Stahlbach.
Her first marriage was to novelist Izzet Melih Devrim, one of Servet-i Fünun
writers, in 1920. This union produced two children: artist Nejad Devrim and director/actress Şirin Devrim. In Athens, November 1933, she married Prince Zeid
bin Huseyin, the ambassador of Iraq to Ankara
and brother of King Faisal I
. With Zeid she had only one child, a son, Prince Ra'ad
.
Her first one-woman show was held in Istanbul
in 1944, followed by exhibitions in London
and Paris
. Her New York
début came in 1950 when she exhibited a series of large abstract canvases at the Hugo Gallery
. She went on to participate in almost 50 exhibitions in Europe, U.S.A. and the Middle East.
Her husband died in 1970, and in 1975 she moved to Amman
, Jordan
, where her son Raad lived, and where she established the Fahrelnissa Zeid Institute of Fine Arts. She died 5 September 1991 and is buried in the Royal Mausoleum, Raghdan Palace, Amman, Jordan.
Büyükada
Büyükada is the largest of the nine so-called Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about two square miles...
, İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
,
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
– 5 September 1991 in Amman, Jordan) was a Turkish artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
whose work blended the elements of Islamic
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
and Byzantine art
Byzantine art
Byzantine art is the term commonly used to describe the artistic products of the Byzantine Empire from about the 5th century until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453....
from the East with abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
and other influences from the West. She worked in a variety of media such as large oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
s, collage
Collage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s and stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
panels.
She married into the Hashemite
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...
royal family of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and is the mother of Prince Ra'ad
Prince Ra'ad
Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid is the son of Prince Zeid of the Hashemite House and Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid , a Turkish noblewoman. Upon the death of his father on October 18, 1970, he inherited the position as head of the Royal Houses of Iraq and Syria...
, the present claimant to the Iraqi throne.
Biography
Fahrelnissa was born in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
on the island of Büyükada
Büyükada
Büyükada is the largest of the nine so-called Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, with an area of about two square miles...
, one of the Princes' Islands
Princes' Islands
The Princes' Islands , are a chain of nine islands off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey, in the Sea of Marmara. The islands also constitute the Adalar district of Istanbul Province...
, (which are part of Istanbul), in 1901 into a prominent Ottoman
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
family. Her father was Muhammad Şakir Pasha (Kabaağaçlı), an Ottoman diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
, photographer, and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, and also the brother of Grand Vizier Cevat Pasha. Her mother was Sare Ismet Hanim from Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
. She was the sister of writer Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı
Cevat Sakir Kabaagaçli
Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı was a Turkish writer of novels, short-stories and essays, as well as being a keen ethnographer and travelogue.-Biography:He is deeply associated with Bodrum where...
(the Fisherman of Halicarnassus/Halikarnas Balıkçısı) and painter Aliye Berger. She was also the aunt of artist Cem Kabaağaç and ceramist Fureya Koral
Füreya Koral
Füreya Koral was the first female Turkish ceramists whose work blended the elements of Islamic and Western art from the East with abstract and other influences from the West. She worked in a variety of media such as tiles, statuettes and panels.-Early life:Füreya Koral was born in Istanbul...
.
She was educated at Notre Dame de Sion d'Istanbul and Pansion Bnagiotti. She was then one of the first women to attend the Fine Arts Academy (Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi) in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, later studying at the Académie Ranson
Académie Ranson
The Académie Ranson was founded in Paris by the French painter Paul Ranson , who himself studied at the Académie Julian, in 1908.- History :...
in Paris under Roger Bissiere
Roger Bissière
Roger Bissière was a French artist who painted in the abstract Tachisme style. He was born in Villeréal, Lot-et-Garonne, and died in Boissièrettes...
and Stahlbach.
Her first marriage was to novelist Izzet Melih Devrim, one of Servet-i Fünun
Servet-i Fünun
Servet-i Fünun , was an avant-garde journal that Halit Ziya and the other writers of the “new literature” published to inform their readers about European, particularly French, cultural and intellectual movements.-Source:...
writers, in 1920. This union produced two children: artist Nejad Devrim and director/actress Şirin Devrim. In Athens, November 1933, she married Prince Zeid
Prince Zeid
Prince Zeid bin Hussein, GCVO, GBE born was a member of the Hashemite dynasty and the head of the Royal House of Iraq from 1958 until his death.-Biography:...
bin Huseyin, the ambassador of Iraq to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
and brother of King Faisal I
Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...
. With Zeid she had only one child, a son, Prince Ra'ad
Prince Ra'ad
Prince Ra'ad bin Zeid is the son of Prince Zeid of the Hashemite House and Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid , a Turkish noblewoman. Upon the death of his father on October 18, 1970, he inherited the position as head of the Royal Houses of Iraq and Syria...
.
Her first one-woman show was held in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
in 1944, followed by exhibitions in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Her New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
début came in 1950 when she exhibited a series of large abstract canvases at the Hugo Gallery
Hugo Gallery
The Hugo Gallery was a New York gallery, founded by Robert Rothschild, Elizabeth Arden and Maria dei Principi Ruspoli Hugo operated between 1945 and 1955.The Hugo gallery was initially on East 55th Street and Madison Avenue....
. She went on to participate in almost 50 exhibitions in Europe, U.S.A. and the Middle East.
Her husband died in 1970, and in 1975 she moved to Amman
Amman
Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, where her son Raad lived, and where she established the Fahrelnissa Zeid Institute of Fine Arts. She died 5 September 1991 and is buried in the Royal Mausoleum, Raghdan Palace, Amman, Jordan.