Artist

Şeker Ahmed Paşa

Şeker Ahmed Paşa was born in Üsküdar. He entered the Imperial Military School of Medicine in 1855 but left in 1856 to enrol in the Ottoman Military College. There, he studied under Pierre Guès and Joseph Schranz. During his time at the college, he worked as an assistant art teacher. In 1861 he was sent to Paris by Sultan Abdülaziz (r. 1861-1876) to continue his education in fine arts. There, he enrolled in the Ottoman School and attended the painting studios of Gustave Boulanger and Jean-Léon Gérôme. His paintings were exhibited in the Paris Salon Exhibitions of 1869 and 1870. In 1871 he returned to Istanbul, where he was appointed as a painting teacher at the Sultanahmet School of Fine Arts. He taught at various military schools and became a painting teacher at the School of Medicine, rising to the rank of captain. In 1873, Şeker Ahmed Paşa organised the first painting exhibition in the Ottoman Empire at the Sultanahmet School of Fine Arts. The exhibition featured works by both local and foreign painters, as well as paintings by students at the Imperial Military School of Medicine, the Imperial School, and the Sultanahmet School of Fine Arts itself. Its great success earned him the appreciation of Sultan Abdülaziz, and he was appointed as the sultan’s aide-de-camp. While in this position between 1875-1876, he played an essential role in acquiring new works for the Dolmabahçe Palace through Adolphe Goupil’s gallery in Paris. He opened the second painting exhibition in the Empire at the Dârülfünûn (Istanbul University). He worked with Osman Hamdi Bey on establishing the Academy of Fine Arts in 1882. In 1896 he was appointed Master of Ceremonies for Foreign Guests at the palace, and he held this post for the rest of his life.