The Republic Monument | Cumhuriyet Anıtı) is a notable monument located at Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, to commemorate the formation of the Turkish Republic in 1923.Designed by Italian sculptor Pietro Canonica and built in two and a half years with financial support from the population, it was unveiled by Dr. Hakkı Şinasi Pasha on August 8, 1928.
The 11 m (36 ft) high monument portrays the founders of the Turkish Republic, with prominent depictions of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, İsmet İnönü and Fevzi Çakmak. The monument has two sides: the side facing north depicts Atatürk in military uniform during the Turkish War of Independence, while the side facing south (towards İstiklal Avenue) has Atatürk and his comrades dressed in modern Western clothing; the former symbolizing his role as military commander-in-chief, and the latter symbolizing his role as statesman.Semyon Ivanovich Aralov, Ambassador of the Russian SFSR in Ankara during the Turkish War of Independence, is among the group of people behind Atatürk (his figure wears a cap and stands behind İsmet İnönü, on the southern facade of the monument).[2] His presence in the monument, ordered by Atatürk, points out to the financial and military aid sent by Vladimir Lenin in 1920, during the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1922).
"Türkiye Reisicumhuru Gazi Mustafa Kemal Paşa Hazretlerine, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Abidesinin resmi küşadı İstanbul’da icra edildiği sırada zatı alilerine en samimi selamlarımı göndermek, benim için büyük bir zevktir. Türk milletinin yeni hayatını tebcil eden meşhur İtalyan sanatçılarının eseri, İtalyan hükümeti ve milletinin ahiren iki memleket arasında aktolunan muahede ile müeyyidi, dostane hissiyatına tekabül etmektedir." — Mussolini
“President of Turkey, Honorable Gazi Mustafa Kemal, sending my sincere greetings as a great personal pleasure for the official launch undertaken in Istanbul. The work of famous Italian artists, who registered the new life of the Turkish nation, corresponds to the friendly feelings of the Italian government and its nation between the two lands of the hereafter.” — Mussolini
[1] Pietro Canonica (1 March 1869 – 8 June 1959) was an Italian sculptor, painter, opera composer, professor of arts and senator for life. He gained big success in the official environment of Turin for his civic and religious monuments. Following the formative period in Turin, he moved in 1922 to Rome, and participated in important national and international exhibitions in Milan, Rome, Venice (Italy), Paris (France), London (England), Berlin, Dresden (Germany), Monaco, Brussels (Belgium) and St. Petersburg (Russia), and received official recognition. Commissioned by Italian and foreign aristocracy in European courts, Pietro Canonica created portraits and commemorative works with passion. The master of equestrian sculpture also produced medallic art.He was professor of sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia (1910) and later at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma. He was in the first cadre of members named to the Royal Academy of Italy in 1929, and a member of the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca (1930).
In 1937, he managed to obtain the concession to renovate Villa Borghese, a 16th-century building owned by the City of Rome and used as administrative offices until it was abandoned in 1919 following a fire. In exchange of the promise to donate his artworks to the city, he was allowed to use the historical building as home and studio, which he repaired and decorated at his own expense. The unusual architectural construction within the Villa Borghese gardens, called also "La Fortezzuola", is a museum since 1961 dedicated to his name, exhibiting studies, models, sketches, casts and original works of the artist. His wife donated the valuable furnishings and paintings found in their private section after her death in 1987.
See Also: SYMBOL FIGURE IN RUSSIAN- TURKISH RAPPROCHEMENT IN TAKSIM REPUBLICMONUMENT (PDF)
İmren ARBAÇ | Yeditepe Üniversitesi, Yabancı Diller Yüksek Okulu Rusça Dil Sorumlusu, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Tarih Ana Bilim Dalı, Doktora Programı. imrenarbac(at)hotmail(dot)com.
Abstract
After the victory in the National Struggle, The Republic of Turkey was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In this period, the first President of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk oriented the new state towards the west. Statutes also came into the country thanks to Atatürk just like other reforms in many fields. Pietro Canonica was invited to the Republic of Turkey for the statutes and monuments that would be built in the newly-founded republic. He first designed the Monument to Atatürk on horseback in front of the Ankara Ethnography Museum on October 29, 1927. Then he designed the Monument to Atatürk in military uniform at Zafer Square in Sıhhıye, Ankara on 4 November 1927. He was also commissioned by the Municipality of Istanbul to make the Monument of the Republic in Taksim Square. His work was placed on its pedestal in 1928. His last work in Turkey was the Monument to Atatürk on horseback in Cumhuriyet Square, İzmir. The Monument of the Republic in Taksim Square was initially planned as the statue of Atatürk, but it was turned into a monument after the suggestion of Pietro Caconica. The place that the monument would be placed and the figures in the monument were determined during this process. The statute of the Russian in the monument emphasizes the importance of the Russian and Turkish history during that period.
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