Mavi Boncuk |See also:The Lure of the East, which opened June 2008 in at Tate Britain, explored British orientalist painting's preoccupation with harems, slaves and the Holy Land.
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After Sir William Allan[1] (British, 1782–1850) Title:The slave market, Constantinople (by C.G. Lewis and W. Giller) , 1842 |23.8 x 33.5 in. / 60.5 x 85 cm.
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The Slave Market, Constantinople (1838) by William Allan[1]
National Gallery of Scotland.
[1] Sir William Allan (1782 – 23 February 1850) was a distinguished Scottish historical painter known for his scenes of Russian life. He became president of the Royal Scottish Academy and was made a Royal Academician.
In 1805 he travelled, by ship, to Russia, but was wrecked at Memel, where he raised funds for the remaining journey by painting portraits of the Dutch consul and others. He then proceeded overland to St. Petersburg, passing through a great portion of the Russian army on its way to Austerlitz. At the Russian capital he found friends, including Sir Alexander Crichton, physician to the imperial family. Having learned Russian, he travelled in the interior of the country, and spent several years in the Ukraine, making excursions to Turkey, Tartary, and elsewhere, studying the culture of Cossacks, Circassians, and Tartars, and collecting arms and armour. In 1809 a picture by him of "Russian Peasants keeping their Holiday" was exhibited at the Royal Academy. His wish to return home in 1812 had to be postponed due to the French invasion of Russia, many of the horrors of which he witnessed first-hand.
In 1826 he was appointed master of the Trustees' School, Edinburgh, an office which he held till a few years before his death. Soon afterwards Allan's health gave way, and he was threatened with blindness. To recuperate he went to Rome, and, after spending a winter there, proceeded to Naples, Constantinople, Asia Minor, and Greece.
After Sir William Allan[1] (British, 1782–1850) Title:The slave market, Constantinople (by C.G. Lewis and W. Giller) , 1842 |23.8 x 33.5 in. / 60.5 x 85 cm.
The Slave Market, Constantinople (1838) by William Allan[1]
National Gallery of Scotland.
[1] Sir William Allan (1782 – 23 February 1850) was a distinguished Scottish historical painter known for his scenes of Russian life. He became president of the Royal Scottish Academy and was made a Royal Academician.
In 1805 he travelled, by ship, to Russia, but was wrecked at Memel, where he raised funds for the remaining journey by painting portraits of the Dutch consul and others. He then proceeded overland to St. Petersburg, passing through a great portion of the Russian army on its way to Austerlitz. At the Russian capital he found friends, including Sir Alexander Crichton, physician to the imperial family. Having learned Russian, he travelled in the interior of the country, and spent several years in the Ukraine, making excursions to Turkey, Tartary, and elsewhere, studying the culture of Cossacks, Circassians, and Tartars, and collecting arms and armour. In 1809 a picture by him of "Russian Peasants keeping their Holiday" was exhibited at the Royal Academy. His wish to return home in 1812 had to be postponed due to the French invasion of Russia, many of the horrors of which he witnessed first-hand.
In 1826 he was appointed master of the Trustees' School, Edinburgh, an office which he held till a few years before his death. Soon afterwards Allan's health gave way, and he was threatened with blindness. To recuperate he went to Rome, and, after spending a winter there, proceeded to Naples, Constantinople, Asia Minor, and Greece.
