1883- 1928 School of Fine Arts. | Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (School of Fine Arts)

The Academy of Fine Arts, known firstly as "Sanayi-i Nefise Mekteb-i Alisi", opened in 1883 under the leadership of Osman Hamdi Bey in the building at the Istanbul Archeology Museums which today houses the Museum of Ancient Near Eastern Artefacts. Connected at that time to the Ministry of Trade (then Ministry of Education), the school opened with 20 students and taught courses in drawing, sculpture, architecture and engraving. The Academy of Fine Arts began under the name "Sanayi-i Nefise Mekteb-i Alisi" (Imperial School of Fine Arts) which changed between 1927 to 1928 to "Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi" (School of Fine Arts) and from 1928 to 1968 to the Academy of Fine Arts; from 1968 to1983 it was known as the State Academy of Fine Arts-Istanbul. In 1983 the school transformed to Mimar Sinan University (today Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University).
In 1910, on the death of Osman Hamdi Bey, his brother, Halil Edhem Eldem, was given the post of director. In first years the Academy accepted only male students which led to the opening in 1914 of a separate Academy for Girls (Inas Sanayi-i Nefise)

The Academy of Fine Arts was variously housed in the Language School (1916-19; 1921-26 ), in a house in Sehzadebasi (May 1919- May 1920), in the Mansion of Gedikler Kâhyasi Salih Efendi on Divanyolu (May 1920-June 1920; October 1920- October 1921) where classes were taught. In 1926 it was moved to the old Parliament building in Findikli. This building suffered from a disastrous fire in 1948 and continued its teaching at the School for the Deaf and Dumb at Yildiz. When repairs to the building were completed, the Academy moved back to Findikli in 1953.

Of the teachers who were appointed when the Academy first opened in 1883, the architect Alexandre Vallaury taught there for 25 years, the artist Valeri for 32 and Osgan Efendi for more than 30. Practical architecture was not taught by Turkish teachers until later when the former teachers had retired. In 1914, Ihsan Ozsoy was appointed to teach at the sculpture studio, and in 1915 Omer Adil, Ibrahim Çalli and Hikmet Onat to the art studio, while Vedat Tek took over the architectural department in the same year.

During the University Reforms of 1933, the Academy underwent important changes in the administrative measures which had lasted for 86 years, when by a law passed in 1969 it gained a new status. In 1971 it combined with the Advanced School of Architecture and the Advanced School of Industry while in the following years institutes were established in Cinema and Television (1975), Urban Research (1976), Industrial Design Research/Publication (1976), Turkish Architectural Research and Restoration (1977), and Photography (1978). The academic departments became faculties in 1979 and by the law of 1981 governing Advanced Education, the Academy was transformed into the Mimar Sinan University.


First building of Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (Fine Arts School). Today, Museum of Ancient Oriental Arts section in Istanbul Archaeological Museums. Eminonu, Istanbul. MSGSU archive.
Osman Hamdi Bey. Founder of Sanayi-i Nefise Mektebi (Fine Arts School) MSGSU archive.
Meclis-i Mebusan (Ottoman Parliament) Building Today MSGSU Building. MSGSU archive.