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Sultans, Merchants, Painters

The Early Years of Turkish - Dutch Relations

January 21 - April 1, 2012

Pera Museum, in collaboration with the Amsterdam Museum, organized an exhibition exploring the commencement of four hundred years of fruitful cooperation between Turkey and the Netherlands. It was on 14th March, 1612, during the rule of the Ottoman Empire that the first Ambassador of Dutch Republic, Cornelis Haga, arrived in Constantinople. The year 2012 marked the four hundredth year of diplomatic relations.

In collaboration with several other leading partners, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Nationaal Archief in The Hague and Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, the exhibition explored the historical and contemporary relations between two world cities and through these cities, implicitly the two countries. ‘Pioneers’ and ‘image (-forming)’ are among the prominent themes. The exhibition was not intended as a complete survey of four centuries of diplomatic ties, but rather to provide a striking insight into the historical ties between Amsterdam and Istanbul, from 1612 to the present day.

The exhibition was both historical and social in approach, yet it also featured important art works, with a key section of the exhibition dedicated to the reconstruction of the Levantse Handel (Levant Trade) chamber that was based in the Town Hall (Palace on Dam Square) from the early 17th to early 19th century. A detailed inventory exists of the paintings and charts that were displayed on the walls of this powerful commercial office in Amsterdam. Many of these items, including an extensive series of portraits by Vanmour, from the collection of Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum were also exhibited.

Istanbul and Amsterdam, Turkey and the Netherlands, have been and continue to be important bridges between Europe and Asia; major players in the international world of commerce, diplomacy, art and migration. The exhibition, firstly taking place at Pera Museum, before travelling to the Amsterdam Museum, highlighted the connection between Turkish and Dutch history; stimulating mutual (multi-) cultural understanding for today.

Exhibition Catalogue

Sultans, Merchants, Painters

Sultans, Merchants, Painters

Pera Museum, in collaboration with the Amsterdam Museum, organized an exhibition titled Sultans, Merchants, Painters: The Early Years of Turkish - Dutch Relations, exploring the...

Video

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Pera Museum presented a talk on Nicola Lorini’s video installation For All the Time, for All the Sad Stones, bringing together the artists Nicola Lorini, Gülşah Mursaloğlu and Ambiguous Standards Institute to focus on concepts like measuring, calculation, standardisation, time and change.

Portrait of a Bullfighter (1797)

Portrait of a Bullfighter (1797)

The man is depicted in three-quarters view, turning straight to the viewers with a penetrating glance. The background is grey, while the clothes, the hair, and cap are black. 

The First Nudes

The First Nudes

Men were the first nudes in Turkish painting. The majority of these paintings were academic studies executed in oil paint; they were part of the education of artists that had finally attained the opportunity to work from the live model. The gender of the models constituted an obstacle in the way of characterizing these paintings as ‘nudes’.