De Chirico’s Calligrammes

13 April 2016

Pera Museum is proud to present an exhibition of Giorgio de Chirico, a pioneer of the metaphysical art movement and one of the most extraordinary artists of the 20th century.

Take a look at one of Giorgio de Chirico’s greatest graphical achievements, Calligrammes!

Calligrammes (1930) 

In 1930, Éditions Gallimard published G. Apollinaire’s 1913 poetic work Calligrammes, which is illustrated with sixty-six monochromatic lithographs by de Chirico. Paying homage to his dear friend Apollinaire, Calligrammes constitutes one of de Chirico’s greatest graphical achievements in terms of originality. Exhibited here in its interiority, he chose to illustrate Apollinaire’s poems with the Sun on the Easel theme that he had recently developed in Paris. Often depicting two suns or moons connected to one another via a cable, one appears illuminated whilst the other celestial body is ‘turned off’. The flow of power between the two stops at a certain point. De Chirico places this sun-wire-sun or moon-wire-moon motif in both interior and exterior architectural settings.

Highlighting his various periods with examples from his earliest works to last ones, Giorgio de Chirico: The Enigma of the World exhibition took place at the Pera Museum between 24 February - 08 May 2016.

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

The Ottoman Way of Serving Coffee

Coffee was served with much splendor at the harems of the Ottoman palace and mansions. First, sweets (usually jam) was served on silverware, followed by coffee serving. The coffee jug would be placed in a sitil (brazier), which had three chains on its sides for carrying, had cinders in the middle, and was made of tombac, silver or brass. The sitil had a satin or silk cover embroidered with silver thread, tinsel, sequin or even pearls and diamonds.

A Photographer’s Biography Pascal Sebah

A Photographer’s Biography Pascal Sebah

Following the opening of his studio, “El Chark Societe Photographic,” on Beyoğlu’s Postacılar Caddesi in 1857, the Levantine-descent Pascal Sébah moves to yet another studio next to the Russian Embassy in 1860 with a Frenchman named A. Laroche, who, apart from having worked in Paris previously, is also quite familiar with photographic techniques.

Audience with the Mad King

Audience with the Mad King

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Pera Museum invites artist Benoît Hamet to reinterpret key pieces from its collections, casting a humourous eye over ‘historical’ events, both imagined and factual.