Europe and the Islamic World: Prints, Drawings, and Books
March 27–June 24, 2007
In conjunction with the special exhibition Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797, a selection of works on paper drawn from the permanent collection explores the related theme of Europe's fascination with the peoples, costume, design, and customs of Muslim lands. From Albrecht Dürer's fifteenth-century engraving of a Turkish family to the sketches drawn by Eugène Delacroix during his visit to Morocco in 1832, the images produced by artists fed the public's curiosity about a culture they both feared and admired—and often imitated. Visual records of diplomatic missions as well as documents of the influence of Islamic traditions on European dress and architecture are featured.
