98. Today in 1920s Turkey. Cartoonist Portraits and Profiles: Muhittin Bey
Türkçe:
Çocuklara göre vasiyet
— Havadisler nasıl kardeş?
— Annemin çamaşır dolabı gibi karmakarışık!
English:
The situation, according to children
— What’s the news like, brother?
— Just like my mom’s linen drawers, a mess!
Comments
As the text in the upper left corner of the frame states, this cartoon was made by an artist (musavvir) by the name of Muhittin. His very distinct signature is located in the lower left corner of the cartoon. It is one of my favorite signatures as it appears at once archaic and futuristic.
Muhittin’s cartoon portrays a pair of children who have adopted adult behaviors and mannerisms. Indeed, many of this artist’s cartoons explore the humorous interstices between the worlds of children and adults. For instance, by depicting a child reading a newspaper and peering over the rims of his glasses, the artist effectively aged the otherwise pint-sized protagonist. The child’s fashionable slacks and tasseled fez contribute to the age-illusion. And although the little girl with the giant bow in her hair may be wearing a pom-pom-bedazzled dress, the fact that she is represented with her hands on her hips demanding the latest “news” colors her an amalgamation of confusing social cues. The mix of adult and child references in this exchange is where much of the cartoon’s humor resides.
Muhittin Bey’s art appeared frequently throughout 1923 and in numerous journals such as Akbaba, Aydede, Papağan, and Zümrüdüanka. His cartoons show up with greater irregularity in 1924. After that he seems to cease to publish. Today in 1920s Turkey has covered a few other cartoons by Muhittin such as #71. Spring Flowers or Autumn Blossoms? and #22. Global Dissatisfaction with Monarchies.
This portrait caricature is the closest visual representation of Muhittin Bey available since there seem to be no known photographs of the artist. Although we suffer from a general lack of information regarding the cartoonist’s life, we know that in 1923 he was one of seven artists on permanent staff at the journal Akbaba. This is due to the 7 June 1923 issue of the magazine including a group portrait of all of its cartoonists (see below). A portrait can reveal a lot of information about a person. Here, Muhittin is depicted wearing a double-breasted jacket and sporting an anchor-shaped lapel pin. His colleague, Ratip Tahir (below, third from right) wears a very similar jacket and we know that he attended the naval academy. Perhaps this means that Muhittin was also a graduate of the naval academy. Another look at his portrait caricature also draws our attention to the fact that Muhittin is the shortest among his peers. Maybe his small stature is one of the reasons he often depicted adults as diminutive children in his works.
This cartoon’s unique content provides an opportunity to systematically explore the world of the cartoonist (rather than the cartoon), hence this mini-series exploring the lives and oeuvres of each artist featured in this group portrait. Muhittin’s profile is the sixth part in this series. The introduction can be found in post #92. Cartoonist Portraits and Profiles: Introduction.
The artists already considered are the following (from right to left): Ramiz Bey, İsmail Hakkı Bey, Ratip Tahir Bey, Hüsamettin Haşim Bey, and Suat Nuri Bey.
Other sources consulted:
Memiş, Şefik and İbrahim Yarış. “Muhittin.” In: İstanbul’un 100 Karikatüristi, 34–35. İstanbul: İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi Kültür A.Ş. Yayınları, 2010.
Originally published at https://steemit.com on July 31, 2017.
