Marine Painters: Hüsnü Tengüz

Marine Painters: Hüsnü Tengüz

Hüsnü Tengüz, who stands out among my sailor painters, was born on January 30, 1876. His father is Ahmet Efendi, who served at the Naval College. He was born in Cibali. It is among the artists whose name is known among Turkish painting art.

After graduating from the Marine Junior High School, he started the Naval School High School. While here he contracted a disease called dengue fever. After this illness, he was divided into a clerk class. In 1982, Hüsnü Tengüz graduated from the school. He was interested in painting and cartography in Erkan-ı Harbiye-i Bahriye. He caught the attention of his teacher's thanks to his talent here. He started his student education at Sanayi-i Nefise School because he was seen as talented. He studied here for three years. He became known with the nicknames of Bahriyeli and Kâtip within the community.

Hüsnü Tengüz's interest in paintings of the sea stems from the paintings of his uncle who served as an engineer officer who was martyred in the Ertuğrul Frigate. The artist was assigned to the Military Museum Commission by Mahmut Şevket Pasha in 1908-1909. Later, on May 3, 1910, he was appointed to the Naval Museum as a painter. On 28 May 1914, he was appointed as the painter of the Naval Printing House and continued his work.

Tengüz's request to retire in 1917 after a brisk working life was accepted. However, when he retired, his deficiency was felt. When this deficiency could not be filled, he was invited to work again. Until 1923, he worked as a civilian painter at the Naval Printing House. He is one of the artists who most depicted the sea and his love for the sea among the marine painters.

He chose the surname Tengüz because of his interest in the sea and everything related to the sea. Tengüz means sea. Besides his painting talent, he was also very successful in the art of ney and violin. The artist, who is familiar with English, Arabic, and Persian languages, also wrote poems. However, his biggest interest was towards the art of painting. He continued to paint until the last moment of his life. He died in 1950.

Hüsnü Tengüz, who is known among our marine painters and is very important in this field, has left many important works behind. The artist's paintings are exhibited in the Marine Museum. Also, there are the paintings of Hüsnü Tengüz in the Presidency, TBMM, Kazım Karabekir Foundation, Mersin Naval Museum, and private collections