Burhaniye, Ege Bölgesi’nde Balıkesir iline bağlıbir yerleşim merkezidir. İlçenin altıkm. güneyinde yer alan Şahinler Köyü Camii, mimari ve süsleme özellikleriyle araştırmacıların pek dikkatini çekmemişbir eserdir. Binanın dışcepheleri sade bir görünüşe sahip olmakla birlikte harim şaşırtıcızenginlikte duvar resimleriyle ön plana çıkar. Kuru sıva üzerine kalemi işi tekniği ve toprak boyalar kullanılarak yapılan bu bezemeler, konu bakımından manzara ve natürmortlardan ibarettir. Manzara tasvirleri içerisinde panoramik İstanbul görüntüsünün canlandırıldığıbetimleme imparatorluğun başkentine özlemin bir ifadesi olarak önemle belirtilmelidir. Resimlerde bir yandan geleneksel minyatür sanatının özellikleri hala etkisini devam ettirirken diğer yandan batısanatının perspektif, derinlik, ışık-gölge gibi kavramlarının başarıyla uygulandığıgörülür. Sanatçısıhakkında herhangi bir bilgiye sahip değiliz. Ancak muhtemelen batıresim geleneğini iyi bilen bir sanatçının eseridir. Bu makale ile yapıdaki duvar resimleri ilk defa üslup, teknik ve konularıbakımından kapsamlıbir biçimde tanıtılmışve Anadolu’daki benzer eserlerle karşılaştırılarak dönemi içerisindeki yeri ortaya konmuştur.

Wall paintings were first seen in architectural works in İstanbul in the second half of the 18th century and spread around Anatolia in a short time. In these paintings, artists both maintained the style of traditional miniature craft and tried to use some concepts of western painting art like depth, perspective, light and shadow even if at a basic level. Wall paintings related to Anatolian architecture have been analyzed by various researchers with comprehensive publications. Besides, it is a truth that there are many little-known or unknown pieces in different parts of our country which has a unique historical and cultural heritage. Şahinler Village Mosque from Burhaniye town in Balıkesir is a good example of this. The building hasn’t caught much attention from the people, maybe because it is in a small country of Anatolia, and hasn’t appeared in a detailed publication. According to the inscription on courtyard entrance door, the mosque was constructed in 1895 owing to the initiatives of Hasan Tahsin Bey, who was the District Governor of Burhaniye in that period. Architecturally, it contains a prayer place in a rectangular shape in width, a narthex with five partitions, and a detached minaret in northwest. Hipped-roofed building is pantiled and interior side is covered with a wooden ceiling. There are fake domes Covering unit which is in a dome shape but not constructed with a dome technique over the ceiling stretching in east-west direction. As stucco of the building is in a bad condition, its material of construction cannot be understood. While exterior part of the building has a modest view, wall paintings in interior part reflect an amazing wealth in terms of their styles, techniques and subjects. In our study, firstly such works have been introduced in details and then their importance has been indicated with comparisons. These descriptions which can be seen on walls except from fake domes on sanctuary and north front split into three groups according to their subjects. First of them is the description of imaginary scene. Such descriptions are widely used. In these paintings, there isn’t a specific place and the artist generally depicts a quiet and restful nature. Trees, flowers and very green meadows with different plants, and sometimes a flowing river that makes this greenery more beautiful are among these imaginary scenes. Sometimes, there are architectural descriptions along with these scenes. Although we cannot exactly determine the place depicted in such type of paintings, we can think that the artist makes these paintings being inspired from unique beauty of surroundings. Because, oaks, willows and junipers are among the most commonly used trees in these paintings and they are generally seen in forestland of Aegean region of our country. Undoubtedly, the artist has depicted these types of trees and plants making them more beautiful in his/her imaginary world. Paintings of the second group are depictions of a specific place. Portrayals of İstanbul and Medina are among them. Portrayal of İstanbul is on the west side of the fake domes. In this portrayal, the image of İstanbul is seen in a sea view with monumental constructions on the other side of coast. However, these constructions aren’t closely-spaced, which we are accustomed to, and the city is symbolized with several monuments. It cannot be understood to which constructions these architectural paintings belong. Besides, we cannot see common constructions like Maiden’s Tower, Galata Tower and Suleymaniye Mosque in these paintings. Accordingly, the artist has portrayed the silhouette of İstanbul and used his/her imagination in architectural texture of the painting. Another painting depicting a specific place is the description of Medina on the south front. In this description, there is a typical image of Medina Mosque with a wide cloister that has two parts and minarets with single minaret balcony on each corner of the mosque. In this image, there aren’t any details about the city around the construction and its architecture, and there is only the description of the mosque. In terms of subjects, the third group is still-life paintings. These paintings, which are composed of flowers in the vase, stand in the middle of fake domes. These still-life paintings have been edited with light and shade and bordered from the top with curled curtain patterns. When looked technically, we can say that the paintings are hand-carved on naked plaster. Color tones in the paintings are sometimes reflected successfully with chiaroscuros and in accordance with perspective western painting tradition, but in some paintings these rules are cared much. The most important problem about wall paintings on sanctuary is preservation and restoration. Since the construction of the building, there haven’t been any remarkable attempts for the restoration of the paintings. We can see that some of the paintings are being rubbed away with the erosion of paint coat of some boards. This situation calls for restoration. We have no information about the artist who paints the portraits of the mosque. There is no record that informs us about the name of the artist either on the inscription or in the descriptions