A woman of European descent in Pera, Constantinople receiving visitors, followed by a young girl (Une Dame Franques de Pera à Constantinople recevant visite)
Jean Etienne Liotard Swiss
Giuseppe Camerata II Italian
Not on view
Born in Geneva and trained in Paris, Liotard traveled to Constantinople in 1738, where he would remain for four years. He returned to Europe transformed, sporting exotic attire and a long beard and bringing with him not only portfolios of drawings but also trunks of Turkish clothing for future sitters to pose in.
From 1743 to 1745 he sojourned in Vienna, where he found favor at the Habsburg court of Empress Maria Theresa. To spread his fame, he produced a group of prints based on the drawings he had made from life in Constantinople. According to the inscription, Liotard himself etched the delicately modeled faces while the Italian printmaker Camerata was responsible for the costumes and carpet.