He made contributions to various fields, including photography, literary art history, theater, cinema, architecture and urbanism.
Arseven was born in Istanbul in 1875, the son of Ahmed Esad Pasha (father) from the Grand vizier of Sultan Abdülaziz period and Fatma Suzidil (mother).
Beginning in 1888, he studied at Hamidiye Mektebi, Galatasaray Mekteb-i Sultânisi and Besiktas Military Rushdiyesi.
In the same year, he was sent to Europe by the Ministry of War to expose the works of Turkish painters and to give concerts with the Mabeyn orchestra.
The play, which received great interest, was published in 1958 as "Selim III" and was staged at the State Theater.
[3] During World War I, he was at Kadıköy Municipality Branch Directorate, and then organized exhibition arrangements for artists in Europe.
"[4] A renowned historian, researcher, and writer Ekrem Isin described Celal Esat Arseven as an inquisitive individual with adequate technical intelligence.