Mihri Müşfik Hanım

Mihri Müşfik Hanım (; born Mihri Rasim Achba; 26 February 1886 – 1954) was an Abkhazian princess and painter who became one of the first and most renowned female painters in Turkey. She was recognized especially for her portraits, including popular figures Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Pope Benedict XV.

Early life and education Mihri Müşfik Hanım was born on 26 February 1886 in the Rasim Pasha Mansion, Baklatarlası neighborhood of Kadıköy in Istanbul. She was a member of Abkhazian princely family, Achba.

Edebiyat-ı Cedide Mihri also had friends among the poets of the Edebiyat-ı Cedide (New Literature) movement, especially one of its leaders, Tevfik Fikret. If the Edebiyat-ı Cedide constituted the literary wing of French artistic influence among the late Ottoman intelligentsia, Mihri Hanım can be said to represent its counterpart in painting; she clearly had a special place among the artists of this school. Tevfik Fikret's house in Aşiyan became her studio for a time.

Edebiyat-ı Cedide poets were influenced by Realism, Parnassianism, and Symbolism, which dominated nineteenth-century French literature during this period. Cenab Şehabeddin, a member of Servet-i Fünun, notes one of its principal conceptions, a special relation with nature: "a place where emotions and dreams roam," it was also taken to act as the mirror of the artist's souls. In addition to this influence, the colour symbolism of Edebiyat-ı Cedide poetry seems to have influenced Mihri Hanım's work Maî ve Siyah [Blue and Black], Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil's famous novel reflects the 'blues' of the Edebiyat-ı Cedide school as well as Mihri Hanım's portraits.

Allegations Mihri Hanım's visit to the journalist Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın and the convicted ex-minister of finance, Cavit Bey, gave rise to criticisms regarding her behaviour. In response, in 1919 she and her students paid a visit to the newspaper Tanin, and denounced the allegations. Her close relations with the Committee of Union and Progress eventually caused Mihri Hanım to leave Istanbul, occupied by Allied powers, for Italy in 1919. Within a year of her return, she resumed teaching at the School of Fine Arts for Girls.

Visit to Italy and divorce Toward the end of 1922, she went to Italy again and ended her marriage there with Müşfik Bey in 1923. In September 2019, she was featured in the New York Times Overlooked series obituaries on remarkable people whose deaths initially went unreported in newspaper.