Jewish Woman in Izmir, Turkey.

Cornelis de Bruyn

1714

Print portrait of woman facing viewer wearing large hat and many-stranded pearls. — This engraving depicting a Jewish woman in Izmir, Turkey, is from Cornelis de Bruyn’s travelogue, *Reizen van Corn. de Bruyn door de vermaardste deelen van Klein Asia, de eylanden Scio, Rhodus, Cyprus enz. mitsg. de voornaamste steden van Aegypten, Syrien en Palestina* (*The Travels of Corn. de Bruyn through the Most Famous Parts of Asia Minor, the islands of Scio, Rhodes, Cyprus, etc. with the Principal Cities of Egypt, Syria, and Palestine*), first published in Delft, the Netherlands, in 1698. Before the advent of photography, it was not uncommon for artists to travel to what were considered exotic or picturesque locations in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, and to produce artworks upon their return home that helped satisfy the curiosity of the public about distant places and peoples.

Credits

Cornelis de Bruyn, from Voyage au Levant, c’est-à-dire, dans les principaux en-droits de l’Asie Mineure, dans les isles de Chio, Rhodes, & Chypre, &c., de même que dans les plus consid érables villes d’Égypte, de Syrie, et de la Terre Sainte (Paris: Guillaume Cavelier, 1714), p. 220. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.