Title: The Tortoise Trainer
Description: The Tortoise Trainer (Turkish: Kaplumbağa Terbiyecisi) is a painting by Osman Hamdi Bey which was crafted in 1906 and 1907 (two versions). In 2004 it was sold for $3.5M and is currently displayed at the Pera Museum in Istanbul. In the Tortoise Trainer, Osman Hamdi Bey satirises the slow and ineffective attempts at reforming the Ottoman Empire, through the attempts of an anachronistic historical character to train tortoises. The painting depicts an elderly man in traditional Ottoman religious costume which predates the introduction of the fez and the spread of Western style dress with the Tanzimat reforms in the mid 19th century. He holds a traditional ney flute with which he is attempting to "train" the tortoises at his feet.
Author(s): Osman Hamdi Bey