Bosporus Beats. Blicke auf Istanbul von 1500 bis 1800

In the organizer's words:

The cosmopolitan city of Istanbul and its inhabitants in art on paper are the focus of the exhibition. Fascinating drawings, prints and books illustrate the diverse connections between Central Europe and the metropolis on the Bosporus.

Works by world-famous artists such as Pollaiuolo, Dürer, Coecke van Aelst, Rembrandt, Liotard and Chodowiecki as well as rare and rarely exhibited examples demonstrate the great interest in Ottoman and Turkish culture throughout the centuries. They paint a multi-layered picture: some reflect the importance of art and music, testify to curiosity and enthusiasm and document splendor and beauty. Others serve propagandistic interests and spread prejudices. Current artistic positions complement the selection of works with reflections on questions of identity and stereotypes.

The view of Istanbul from the inside

The theme of perspective - or even more: the disclosure of perspectives - opens and accompanies the exhibition. At the center are the depictions of Istanbul by Antoine Ignace Melling (1763-1831). The Franco-German architect lived for many years in the metropolis on the Bosporus, where he worked for Sultan Selim III and his half-sister Hatice. He created views of the city which, according to Orhan Pamuk, are among the most beautiful depictions:

Melling did not look at Istanbul from the outside, but from the inside. [...] By seeing the city like an Istanbulite and painting it like an unprejudiced European, his Istanbul is, on the one hand, a familiar geographical place with its mosques and memories and, on the other, an incomparable and therefore wonderful world in its own right.

Orhan Pamuk, Istanbul. Erinnerungen an eine Stadt, translated from the Turkish by Gerhard Meier, original Turkish edition 2003, Munich 2006, p. 91

Echo chamber for contemporary themes

On the one hand, the exhibition spans a broad chronological arc from the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Prussia by the first Turkish legation in Berlin in 1763. On the other hand, the individual chapters of the exhibition - Contact, Curiosity, Conflict, Propaganda, Prejudice - each explore the perspective of the artist and the public. In this way, the historical works of art create an echo chamber for contemporary issues.

Media cooperation: tipBerlin

A special exhibition of the Kupferstichkabinett - Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

Price information:

Admission: €8.00, reduced €4.00; free admission for children and young people up to and including the age of 18.