People used oxcarts as a vehicle in the years when the society they lived in was not at an advanced level in terms of industrial technology and mechanization. When considered in a cultural sense, oxcarts, which were frequently used as a wagon or a migration wagon especially in ancient Turkish societies, were also used for the same purposes by the Turkish people living on Anatolian lands. However, oxcarts had a very important role for Turks, especially during the national struggle period, and they have a special value both spiritually and culturally. The purpose of use and the process of use of oxcarts over the years have changed according to the positive effects of the innovations in the industrial and technological context seen in Western societies on the Turkish people. The increase in the use of motor vehicles with the mechanization process reduced the interest in the slow and sluggish oxcart. Thus, the oxcart gave its way to the speed and power of the machine engine. In today's modern age, the oxcart, which has lost its purpose of use, is exhibited and used as a cultural heritage value in ethnography-themed museums or various foyer areas.

The primary purpose of the study is to emphasize the cultural and sociological importance of the “oxcart” image, which has an important place in Turkish culture. The secondary purpose of the study is to evaluate the “oxcart” image seen in the works of artists who produced works in different periods and styles, especially the painters of the Republican period, who took their place in Contemporary Turkish painting, from a pictorial language perspective. This study is limited to the works of İbrahim Çallı, Ali Sami Yetik, Hayri Çizel, Hüseyin Avni Lifij, Neşet Günal, Kasım Koçak and Fikret Otyam, who produced works in different styles. First of all, a literature review was conducted on the symbolic meanings of the oxcart image in Turkish culture, and in the next stage, some works containing the oxcart image in Contemporary Turkish painting were analysed in the context of plastic arts and a conceptual conclusion was reached.

 Turkish culture, National Struggle, contemporary Turkish painting, oxcart.