The Change in Interior Design in 19th Century Ottoman Architecture. Art Nouveau Season Panels

With the start of the era of Westernization in Ottoman architecture at the beginning of the eighteenth century, Western architectural styles began to display a dominant influence in both facades and in interior decoration. The imported architectural styles from Europe were a cultural dynamic that steered a change in Ottoman architecture, continuing to impact design trends up until the end of the nineteenth century. Particularly with the advent of the era of Sultan Abdülhamit II (1876-1909), Ottoman architecture revealed imprints of the Neo- Classic, Neo-Baroque, Neo-Gothic, Orientalist, Eclectic, Swiss Châlet, and English Victoria styles. One of the architectural styles coming into the Empire from abroad was Art Nouveau, a style of design that began to be seen in Ottoman architecture at the end of the 19th century and the turn of the 20th century. The Ottomans named the Art Nouveau style Tarz-ı Cedid (New Style) as they adopted this mode of design in all aspects of life–from works of architecture to interiors and common everyday articles. The aim of this paper is to present the most famous of the ceramic tile “season panels” seen in interior decoration schemes in Ottoman architecture as from the 1890’s, works of art that reflected the Art Nouveau style and depicted the four seasons. The examples to be described are the panels to be found at Lebon (Markiz) Patisserie and Villa Mon Plaisir.