
Artist's commentary
Ertugrul: To the Far East of Japan
On July 14, 1889, the Ertugrul set sail from Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Its destination was Japan. It took 11 months to reach Japan, encountering many difficulties along the way, but on the return journey she sank in a typhoon off the coast of Wakayama. However, the sight of the brave sailors on board the Ertugrul, flying the Ottoman flag and appearing at ports in India and Southeast Asia, must have given hope to local Muslims who were under the colonial rule of Western powers at the time..
This painting is full of revisions. At first, I painted it with the setting sun in the background, but it seemed strange to set sail in the evening, so I changed it to morning. I also corrected the position and angle of the Tunnel of Desert (I really wanted to include the Ottoman flag on top). It's difficult because I always get ideas or realize I've made a mistake after I start coloring.
Acrylic on half of a F10 canvas.