Military painters from past to present meet in Ankara exhibition

Bringing together past and present military painters under one roof, the exhibition will open to art lovers at the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum on October 6, 2026, within the scope of the Ankara 2026 Turkic World Tourism Capital events.

Location and Date of the Exhibition

Organized within the framework of the Ankara 2026 Turkic World Tourism Capital events, the opening of the exhibition will take place on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 14:00 at the Arif Hikmet Koyunoğlu Exhibition Hall of the Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum.

Art lovers will have the opportunity to visit this special exhibition, which brings together the past and the present, until October 25, 2026.

Tradition of Military Painting

The roots of the military painting tradition in Turkish art date back to the 19th century, and these educational programs were initially designed to meet the needs of fields such as map-making, topography, and technical drawing.

Over time, this education provided in military schools was not limited only to military purposes and played a decisive role in the development of Turkish painting art.

Representatives of the Historical Generation

Works by prominent historical representatives of the Military Painters Generation will also take their place in the exhibition in Ankara.

Works by important artists such as Halil Pasha, Hüseyin Zekâi Pasha, Ali Bey, Hüseyin Giritli, Diyarbakırlı Tahsin, Ali Sami Yetik, Mehmet Ruhi Arel, Ali Cemal Benim, and Hikmet Onat will meet with art lovers.

Contemporary Artists and the Group

Names continuing this deep-rooted tradition today continue their work under the roof of the Military Painters Group, which was founded on December 21, 2020.

In addition to numerous contemporary military painters, works prepared with the theme of the Turkic World and reflecting cultural partnerships extending from Central Asia to Anatolia will also be exhibited.