Originally named Ali Bedrettin Eyüboğlu, Bedri Rahmi was born on 15 March 1911 in Görele district of Giresun. His father was Rahmi Bey, a district governor and member of parliament, and his mother was Lütfiye Hanım. He was the second child in a family of five. He is the brother of the renowned writer Sabahattin Eyüboğlu and Mualla Eyüboğlu, one of Türkiye’s first female architects.

His childhood was spent in various towns across Anatolia due to his father’s official postings. The literary and artistic atmosphere at home influenced him from an early age. While his mother passed on cultural heritage through folk literature to her children, his father translated works from French literature.

During his secondary school years, Bedri Rahmi co-founded a magazine called “Serçe” with his friends. In 1923, when his father was elected as a member of parliament for Trabzon, the family moved to Trabzon. While studying at Trabzon High School, he developed an interest in literature and poetry; his earliest poems were published in journals such as Trabzon Mecmuası and Muhit.

Influenced by the painter Ahmet Zeki Kocamemi, Bedri Rahmi turned to painting and entered the State Academy of Fine Arts (today’s Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University) in 1929. There he received instruction from notable figures such as Nazmi Ziya Güran and İbrahim Çallı. However, in 1931 he left the academy midway and moved to France to join his elder brother Sabahattin.

Work by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu (Anadolu Agency)

Artistic Career and Meeting Eren Eyüboğlu

In Paris, where he developed an interest in art history, Eyüboğlu attended the workshop of the renowned painter André Lhote. There he met the Romanian-born artist Eren Eyüboğlu (Ernestine Letoni), with whom he married in Türkiye in 1936. The couple became a significant artistic duo in Türkiye’s art scene, sharing both life and creative pursuits.

After a brief trip to London in 1933, he returned to Türkiye. In 1934 he joined the innovative group of painters known as D Group. In 1935 he held his first solo exhibition in Romania. In 1937 he began working as an assistant to Leopold Levy at the Academy of Fine Arts and later rose to the rank of professor.

Literary and Visual Output

Bedri Rahmi was not only a painter but also a prolific poet and essayist. His first poetry collection, published in 1941 and titled “Yaradana Mektuplar,” attracted attention with its voice rooted in folk poetry. His most famous poem, “Karadut,” is one of the works that successfully fused folk culture with modern poetic aesthetics. His poems prominently feature the plain language of folk bards, along with themes of love, nature and Anatolia.

In his paintings, elements such as the texture of Anatolia, village landscapes, traditional motifs, kilim patterns, female figures and fruit and vegetable themes stand out. From the 1940s onward he also produced works using techniques such as mosaic, mural painting and ceramics. His 227-square-meter mosaic panel created for the Turkish pavilion at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair earned him a gold medal.

Eyüboğlu blended modern art with Anatolian folk culture, uniting Western techniques with Eastern spirit in his paintings. He synthesized forms and colors drawn from folk art with influences from Fauvism, Post-Impressionism and Abstract Expressionism into an original synthesis.

The Blue Anatolia Movement and the Anatolian Theme

In the 1940s, alongside his brother Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Azra Erhat and Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı (Halikarnas Balıkçısı), he participated in the Blue Anatolia movement. This intellectual current viewed Anatolia as the cradle of civilizations and a source of humanism. Bedri Rahmi reflected this perspective in both his poetry and his paintings.

His techniques included engraving, calligraphy, stained glass, mosaic, lithography, ceramics, plastic glue and Japanese paper, among others. In this regard, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of multidisciplinary art in Türkiye.

Work by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu (Anadolu Agency)

Academic and Public Activities

Bedri Rahmi continued his academic career from 1937 until 1971, when he served as Head of the Painting Department. He supported his students and actively encouraged emerging artist movements such as “Onlar Grubu.”

Between 1951 and 1960 he wrote a weekly column titled “Pazartesi Konuşmaları” on art and culture for the newspaper Cumhuriyet. In 1961, with a Rockefeller scholarship, he traveled to Paris and the United States with his wife, delivering lectures there.

Death and Legacy

Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu contracted jaundice in 1975 and died in Istanbul on 20 September 1975 at the age of 64. A year after his death, he was named “Artist of the Year” by the Milliyet Art Magazine.

Selected Works

Poetry Books

Yaradana Mektuplar (1941)

Karadut (1948)

Tuz (1952)

Bigüzel (1959)

Dol Karabakır Dol (1974)

Essays and Travel Writings

Canım Anadolu (1953)

Delifişek (1975)

Tezek (1975)

Bu Anadolu Var ya (1993, posthumous)

Art Books

Resim Yaparken (1996)

Binbir Bedros (1977)

Artistic Legacy

After his death, Eyüboğlu’s works were collected and published by Bilgi Yayınevi and Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları. Eyüboğlu, who merged Anatolian cultural elements with Western artistic disciplines, is recognized as one of Türkiye’s most important figures in modern art grounded in folk culture.