Exposition : France, Suède et Empire ottoman : alliances artistiques

In the early 18th century, France, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire forged a network of alliances in which diplomacy paved the way for the imagination. Through paintings, drawings, engravings and watercolours, the exhibition explores these artistic and cultural exchanges.

In the 18th century, relations between West and East eased after many centuries marked by armed conflict. France, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire allied against their common enemies, Russia and Austria.

Diplomatic exchanges became more structured, permanent embassies were established and travel became more accessible. In this new context, a mutual curiosity developed: Europeans and Ottomans observed and influenced one another.

Western artists and intellectuals became passionate about Ottoman costumes and interiors, building the image of an idealised world.

The figure of the sultan and court life inspired literature, the visual arts and the performing arts, while sparking discussions steeped in the spirit of the Enlightenment.

The exhibition presents a selection of works from the collections of the Institut suédois and Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, which illustrate these exchanges.

The chronological route opens with two paintings by a Swedish painter after works by Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, who accompanied the French ambassador on a journey to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1699.

His views of the city, of ceremonies and of the local population in traditional dress were disseminated across Europe as engravings in the Recueil de cent estampes représentant différentes nations du Levant (1714), profoundly shaping the Western imagination.

The exhibition also includes several drawings by Cornelius Loos, an officer who took part in an expedition commanded by King Charles XII of Sweden, exiled in the Ottoman Empire after being defeated by Russia.

Confined to his camp, the king chose to send his men into the Muslim world to document it. Loos's drawings offer a remarkable view of the architecture and landscapes of Constantinople, from urban panoramas and mosques to palaces and interior views of the Hagia Sophia basilica.