Cihat Burak, 1915-1994

After graduating from the Galatasaray Lycée, Cihat Burak enrolled in the Academy of Fine Arts to study architecture. Despite working as an architect all his life, Cihat Burak never abandons painting. He examined common social issues through his imaginary interpretations during the 1970s, when the art circles in Turkey were debating universality and locality. He depicted traditions using a contemporary language and infused many scenes from the stories featured in his paintings with a poetic and fable-like style. “A Memory from the Army” depicts young soldiers in front of an equestrian statue. An army child himself, Burak depicted scenes containing military details in various paintings.