Orientalist Museum launches “Journey into the World of the Ottomans”

Photo above: Jean-Baptiste Vanmour. The grand vizier crossing the Atmeidan (Hippodrome) with the Blue Mosque on the left. Oil on canvas. 61x 84.5 cm. SK-A-1998. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.

Commenting on the importance of this exhibition, Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa, Chairperson of Qatar Museums Authority, said: “In celebrating Doha as the Cultural Capital of the Arab World, it gives me great pleasure to share this moment with the opening of a Journey into the World of the Ottomans, to highlight some of the greatest Orientalist masterpieces. The State of Qatar has long collected works of Oriental art, archiving these works as historic artefacts worthy of study and exploration.”

Photo: Jean-Baptiste Vanmour (1671-1737). Ambassador Cornelis Calkoen at audience with Sultan Ahmed III on 14 September 1727. 90 x 121 cm. Oil on canvas. SK-A-4078. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum.; SK A 4078

Photo: Nicolas Ryckx. Procession of the Turks, c. 1665. Oil on canvas; 72 x 100 cm. Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha

Her Excellency went on to say: “Although the notion of “Orientalism” is commonly perceived as a view from the West on the East, we believe that there is an opportunity to explore and appreciate the spaces in between. Although these works were mainly Western documentations of Eastern lands, the importance of this European art movement lies in that it recorded major historical events, people, customs and culture. One may debate the composition of the works and question its accuracy in its entirety – but one cannot deny the historical overview it gives us; nor the opportunity for discussion and reflection.”

Photo: Follower of Gentile Bellini. Portrait of the Sultan Mehmed II, c. 1510. Oil on panel, 21 x 16 cm. Museum of Islamic Art, Doha. PA.16

The exhibition will display artworks from the Orientalist Museum’s own collection as well as several paintings on loan from the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, and other major private collections in the UK and the Netherlands. Some of the artists featured in the exhibition include: Bernardino Campi, Jacopo Ligozzi, Nicolas Rycks, Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, Jean-Étienne Liotard, Antoine Ignace Melling, Francesco Hayez, John Frederick Lewis, Walter Gould, Alberto Pasini, Germain Fabius Brest, Oskar Kokoschka, Nikolai Kalmikoff, Vanessa Hodgkinson and Bas Princen; all of whom produced Orientalist artworks from the 16th century onwards.

Photo: Germain-Fabius Brest. Mosque in Trabzon, 1870. Oil on canvas, 112.5 x 166.6 cm. Orientalist Museum, Doha. OM.83

The selected artworks illustrate the history and evolution of the Orientalist art movement from the 16th to 21st centuries. The exhibition covers different genres of Orientalist art and demonstrates how they shaped the image of Ottomans in Europe throughout the years. The exhibition will also feature a catalogue of all the paintings on display offering an insight into Orientalist art and its relationship with other scholarly fields.

Photo: Unknown artist, English school. View of Istanbul, early XVIIIth century. Oil on canvas; 204 x 443 cm. Orientalist Museum, Doha.OM.319

Alongside the exhibition, a two-day international conference will be held by the Orientalist Museum at the Museum of Islamic Art on November 28th and 29th 2010. The academic conference will explore the subject of Orientalism in art, examine the interconnected history of the Ottoman and European empires as well as their cultural exchange from the 16th to the 21st centuries. Registration for the conference is open to the public and can be done through QMA’s website.

Photo: Oskar Kokoschka. Istanbul I, 1929. Oil on canvas, 80.3 x 110.8 cm. Orientalist Museum, Doha. OM.719

Photo: John Frederick Lewis. The Kibab shop, Scutari, Asia Minor, 1858. Oil on panel, 53.3 x 78.7 cm. Orientalist Museum, Doha. OM.725

In addition, a costume workshop will take place in MIA’s Education Centre for children from 9-13 years old, giving participants the opportunity to dress up as their favourite characters from Orientalist paintings.

Entry to the exhibition will be charged at 25 QR for adults, and is free for students and children under 16.

For further information please contact:
Federica Zuccarini
PR Coordinator at Qatar Museums Authority
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Source: Press Release