Mehmet Saıp

Saıp Tuna studied for two years at the Sanayi-i Nefise Mekteb-i, renamed as the Art Academy in 1928. He then worked in Germany and France. At the beginning of the World War II, he returned to Turkey. Until he retired, he worked as a painting teacher at the İsmet Pasha Girls Institute. In 1942 he became a member of the Ankara Professional Painters Group. During this time, he created a series of portraits of the founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Atatürk. With numerous charcoal portraits, realistic landscapes and portraits, he was considered one of the leading artists of the time in Turkey. His style was based on the impressionist style of his teacher İbrahim Çalli (1882–1960).