Aziz Istanbul – Beloved Constantinople

The exhibition, held at the Galata Greek School—renovated thanks to the sponsorship of the Thanasis and Marina Martinos Foundation—featured paintings by European artists of the 18th and 19th centuries from the IAMM Collection, as well as ecclesiastical objects from the Sadberk Hanım Museum, which belongs to the Koç Foundation.
The exhibition was curated by Fani-Maria Tsigakou and Hülya Bilgi, Director of the Sadberk Hanım Museum. The exhibits highlighted fundamental aspects of Constantinople: the paintings demonstrate that the city served as a powerful source of inspiration for European artists, while the precious ecclesiastical objects attest to Constantinople itself as a major artistic center for the production of masterful works.
These ecclesiastical objects—liturgical vessels crafted in Constantinople for Christian churches—include chalices for Holy Communion, lamps, thuribles, chrism containers, and votive offerings of original design. Worked in silver and gold, they are decorated with relief compositions of remarkable craftsmanship. Their decorative motifs reflect European artistic currents, a style that became prominent in Ottoman aesthetics of the period and bears witness to the outward-looking cultural policy pursued at that time by the progressive Ottoman sultans.

This “opening toward the West” gave Constantinople a cosmopolitan atmosphere and made it a popular destination for European artists. The works included in the exhibition from the IAMM Foundation Collection testify to the fascination that the dazzling spectacle of the Ottoman capital exerted on artistic imagination—with its magnificent setting, its masterful monuments, and the rich diversity of its inhabitants’ attire. At the same time, these works constitute a valuable visual archive for scholars studying Constantinople in past centuries.
The richly illustrated and lavish catalogue, with texts by the co-curators, forms a collectible publication. Beyond its aesthetic quality and scholarly interest, the exhibition is also significant for its symbolic meaning. It should be noted that it was not simply a “Greek participation” in an exhibition organized in Constantinople, but a joint organization from the outset between two distinguished foundations, one Greek and one Turkish.
It is also noteworthy that the exhibition was inaugurated by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, together with Thanasis and Marina Martinos and Rahmi Koç. In this way, the exhibition served as a reminder that cultural initiatives capable of engaging calmly with the shared past of neighboring peoples—despite present-day disagreements—can highlight the enduring and unbreakable human bonds that connect them.