Jewish Man in Cairo

Cornelis de Bruyn

1714

Print depicting man in turban and draped robe sitting amid pillows and playing instrument with bow.
This engraving depicting a Jewish man in Cairo, Egypt 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, 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 endroits de l'Asie Mineure, dans les isles de Chio, Rhodes, & Chypre, &c., de même que dans les plus considérables villes d'Égypte, de Syrie, et de la Terre Sainte (Paris: Guillaume Cavelier, 1714), p. x34-35. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

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

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Creator Bio

Cornelis de Bruyn

1652–1727

Cornelis de Bruyn was a Dutch artist, writer, and traveler who published two books about his trips to the Middle East. De Bruyn studied painting in the Hague. A wealthy patron paid for his first trip abroad in 1674, to Italy, Izmir, Asia Minor, and Egypt. In 1684, he returned and went to live in Venice, where he continued to study painting. In 1698, after returning to the Hague, he published the first edition of his 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, Delft, 1698) which included 215 engravings as illustrations. In 1701, de Bruyn left on a second journey, to Russia, Persia, and the Dutch Indies. He published an illustrated account of this journey in 1711.

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