Publisher's Synopsis
Jean-Baptiste Vanmour was one of the most important "orientalist" artist: this publication is the most comprehensive survey of his works. Orientalism can be defined as a historical and cultural event, which has been uniting various aspects of cultural life for a number of centuries - literature, fine arts, architecture, music and philosophy. A "vision" of the East - positive or negative - based on imagination or historic facts, it has generated an exotic image in our consciousness, which has its own right to existence. The Franco-Flemish artist Jean Baptiste Vanmour (1671-1737) was the art-biographer of the XVIII century Ottoman Empire. He left a very important legacy - pictorial evidences which can be considered as historical illustrations of all the aspects of XVIII century Ottoman life: from diplomatic ceremonies in the Ottoman court to everyday events of Istanbul multinational society.
