Eyüboglu, Bedri Rahmi

Eyüboğlu was deeply involved with the cultural movement known as Blue Anatolianism, which was founded by his brother, Sabahattin, a writer; the classicist Azra Erhat; and the novelist Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı. Locating the aesthetic heritage of modern Turkey in the heartland of Anatolia, this group embraced both ancient and modern production of Asia Minor, celebrating both the beginnings of humanism in ancient Greece and Turkish folk traditions. Inspired by this movement, Eyüboğlu joined some of its mavi yolculuk (“blue journey”) boat trips, which explored Anatolia along the Aegean coast. Both Man Carrying a Goat and Peasant Mother and Child (G1975.244) depict archetypal figures common to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—reflecting Eyüboğlu’s all-encompassing Anatolianism.