SMYRNA IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES: A WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
25 September 2013 - 29 December 2013
With the help of the narratives of Western travelers who visited Izmir in the 18th and 19th centuries, this exhibition presents an opportunity to see the city – which used to be one of the most important centers of trade, diplomacy and culture of the Ottoman Empire—from another perspective.
With its deeply rooted history, the vividness and the richness created by the coming together of different cultures, Izmir has attracted the attention of many travelers on their journeys to the east and has thus become the subject of many works. The exhibition presents the viewers with a journey of Izmir from the perspectives of travelers, who, in 18th and 19th centuries set off from Marseille—the most important port of the Western Mediterranean—and reached Izmir via the sea. It provides a reflection of Izmir of the past, in the light of travel books, photographs, etchings, paintings in addition to documents about trade, population and social life from the era.
Within the scope of the exhibition are around three hundred documents and artworks which have been collected from leading European museums, libraries and private collections and most of which have never been exhibited before.
CONTRIBUTING MUSEUMS AND INSTITUTIONS
England
The British Museum, London
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
France
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux
Bibliothèque municipale, Lyon
CCI Marseille Provence
Musée des Augustins, Toulouse
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris
Bibliothèque/Musée de l’Opéra, Paris
The Netherlands
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Switzerland
Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts, Lausanne
Turkey
Arkas Maritime History Center
French Institute of Anatolian Research, Istanbul
Italian Consulate, Izmir
Private Collections
Lucien Arkas Collection, Izmir
Alex Baltazzi Collection, Izmir
Pietro & Aldo Braggiotti Collection, Izmir
Brian Giraud Collection , Izmir
Verbeke-Guiffray Collection, Cannes
Pierre de Gigord Collection, Paris
Guy Meyer Collection, Paris
Private Collection, Paris
Private Collection, Bruxelles