Sultane Blanche, plate 25 from Caravanne du Sultan à la Mecque 1748

Joseph Marie Vien created "Sultane Blanche" as an etching, part of "Caravanne du Sultan à la Mecque." This piece reflects the 18th-century European fascination with the "Orient," filtered through the lens of French Neoclassicism. Vien, who later became director of the French Academy, depicts a "white sultana," an odalisque-like figure, embodying exoticism and luxury. The work reveals more about European fantasies than about Ottoman culture. It was a period when institutions like the Academy shaped artistic taste and subject matter, often reinforcing colonial perspectives. The engraving technique itself, with its fine lines and controlled shading, echoes the Academy's emphasis on order and precision. To understand this work fully, we need to consider its place within the history of Orientalism and the institutional structures that promoted certain ways of seeing the world. Researching travelogues, fashion plates, and Academy records would offer insights into the image's original context and its lasting cultural impact.