Bursa Koza Han / Koza Han in Bursa

Cemal Tollu was born in Istanbul and in 1919 enrolled at the School of Fine Arts. When Istanbul was occupied he left his education unfinished and joined the army. He fought in the War of Independence between 1921 and 1923. He resumed his education at the School of Fine Arts in 1925. In 1926 he passed the secondary school teaching examination and in 1927 was appointed as art teacher at Elazığ Teacher Training School for Boys. The first exhibition of his work was held in Elazığ. He went on to study at Hofmann’s (1880-1966) studio in Munich and at the studios of Andre Lhote (1885-1962), Léger, Marcel Gromaire (1892-1971) and the sculptor Charles Despiau (1874-1946) in Paris. In 1933 he became one of the founders of the D Group. He was appointed as assistant director of the Archaeology Museum in Ankara in 1935. He returned to Istanbul in 1937 and taught painting at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he also served as assistant head of the painting department under Leopold Levy (1882-1966). In 1939 he won second prize at the 1st State Painting and Sculpture Exhibition and first prizes at the 3rd and 21st exhibitions.

The D Group was founded in 1933 by six friends, five of them painters and one a sculptor (Nurullah Cemal Berk, Zeki Faik İzer, Elif Naci, Cemal Tollu, Abidin Dino and Zühtü Müridoğlu). Subsequently the group was joined by Turgut Zaim, Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu, Eren Eyüboğlu, Eşref Üren, Arif Kaptan, Halil Dikmen, Sabri Berkel, Salih Urallı, Hakkı Anlı, Fahrünnisa Zeid, Nusret Suman and Zeki Kocamemi. The group remained active until 1951, representing the generation of young artists of the period and played an influential role in the visual arts. The name D Group was chosen because the letter 'd' is the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet and this was the fourth group of artists to be established in Turkey. Most of the group's members had studied in Paris and were influenced by the artists under whom they worked there. Upon their return home they opposed the impressionist style of the 1914 Generation, instead adopting a cubist, structuralist style, fragmenting the elements of their paintings to create more solid and sharply defined forms. This group argued that the art of a westernizing country had to be 'new'.

Koza Han: This han, also known as Han-ı Cedid-i Evvel, was built by Sultan Beyazıd II in 1491 to provide revenue for Beyazid Mosque in Istanbul. Hans are is commercial buildings similar to caravanserais where those producing or trading in the same goods had shops, and where merchants from other areas could find accommodation. Rooms for guests were generally located on the two or three upper storeys.