History of the Building
The National Palaces Painting Museum is situated in the Crown Prince Apartment of Dolmabahçe Palace and was built in 1856.
Between 1937 and 2010, the building hosted the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum, affiliated with Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Following a restoration process between 2010 and 2014, the structure was converted into the National Palaces Painting Museum, while the Istanbul Painting and Sculpture Museum moved to its new building in Fındıklı.
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Collection and Exhibition Layout
Opened in 2014, the museum operates under the Directorate of National Palaces. Consisting of 30 halls, the museum exhibits a collection in a thematic layout composed of works commissioned and purchased by 19th-century Ottoman sultans.
In addition to works located in palaces affiliated with the Department of National Palaces, the collection also includes paintings on loan from Topkapı Palace. Among the 533 works in the museum is Prince Halim’s Deer Hunt in the Gatah Desert: The Greyhound’s Share, painted by Félix-Auguste Clément and formerly located at the Said Halim Pasha Mansion; this painting holds the distinction of being Turkey’s largest Orientalist painting.
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