Eskiz Defteri: Usta bir Ressamın Öyküsü / A Brief Story of a Master Painter

Eskiz Defteri: Usta bir Ressamın Öyküsü, prepared by N. Göksun YENER, is a bilingual, archival study focusing on the artistic life and creative process of one of the masters of Turkish painting, Mümtaz Yener (1918-2007). The author, the artist's only child, introduces the reader to her father's disciplined 70-plus-year career, which he maintained by painting every day until age 90, sharing his meticulous drawings and sketches. The book showcases Yener's unwavering social-realist line, which began with the "Yeniler Grubu" (The Newcomers Group) he co-founded in 1940, milestones like the "Port Exhibition," and his unique style, which he later defined as "neo-classic". It highlights crucial moments in his career, such as winning the Grand Prize for his painting "Conquest of Istanbul" and introducing ants into his work in the 1960s, culminating in an award for "The Ants are Coming". The philosophy behind the artist's central themes—crowds, machines, and the ants he used as a metaphor —is examined. Many of these sketches, published here for the first time, are an invaluable resource, revealing the immense labour and intellectual foundation behind Yener's meticulous oil paintings, which can take up to four years to complete. This work illuminates not only the story of a painter but also a period of Turkey's social and artistic memory.