By the Water’s Edge: The Life and Art of Halil Paşa

By the Water’s Edge: The Life and Art of Halil Paşa (Suyun Kıyısında: Halil Paşa’nın Hayatı ve Sanatı) explores the life and work of Halil Paşa, one of the important painters who shaped Turkish art during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic. Presented at Pera Museum in Istanbul, the exhibition brings together paintings, sketches, photographs and archival materials to offer a closer look at both the artist and the world in which he worked.

Halil Paşa is particularly known for his landscapes and portraits, with light, color and natural detail playing a defining role in his work. His paintings of Beylerbeyi, Göksu, Küçüksu, Fenerbahçe and Bostancı capture the changing atmosphere of Istanbul’s waterfront and the everyday life surrounding the Bosphorus.

The exhibition also traces Paşa’s artistic journey from his early years in Istanbul to his education in Paris and later travels in Egypt. Together, these works reveal how different landscapes influenced his artistic language and helped establish open-air painting as an important practice in Turkish art.

Located at Pera Museum in the heart of Beyoğlu, By the Water’s Edge offers travelers an engaging way to discover Istanbul’s artistic and cultural history while seeing the city’s iconic waterfront through the eyes of one of its early modern painters.