Ratip A？ir Acudo？u, One of the First Sculptors of the Republican Period: His Life and Monuments

Ratip As？ir Acudog？u was born in Istanbul in 1898 and died in Istanbul. He started his education in 1918 at the Sculpture Department of School of Fine Arts (Sanayii Nefise Mektebi). He contiuned his education in the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Germany, and then in Julian Academy, France. He also attended the workshop by Bourdelle, a famous sculptor. He returned to the country in 1928. Having been one of the founders of the Association of Independent Painters and Sculptors in 1928, Acudog？lu served as a Painting Teacher, a career he first started in Edirne, in 1929, which he kept doing until his death in Istanbul. Parallel to his duty as an art educator, he was productive at all times the field of sculpture and created many works of art during his life. His most important works include Menemen Kubilay Monument, Bolu Atatu？rk Monument (with Nejat Sirel), Erzincan I？no？nu？ Monument, and Atatu？rk Monument at the Faculty of Agriculture, Ankara University. Ratip As？ir Acudog？u’s monumental works indicate, how important has been the place of art and sculpture in the cultural agenda of the country since the early years of the Republican Period. The life story of the artist is a significant indicator of how passionately and committedly the first generation of the Turkish sculptors engaged in their profession despite challenging life conditions