Fontein in Istanboel 1861 - 1870

Charles Gaudin captured ‘Fontein in Istanboel’ as a stereoscopic image. This photograph offers us a window into nineteenth-century Orientalism, a Western fantasy of the East. In this context, the fountain becomes more than just a source of water; it’s a symbol loaded with cultural and political significance. The very act of photographing it, then packaging it as a stereoscopic image, speaks volumes about how the West sought to consume and possess these distant lands. The fountain, with its elaborate architecture, embodies an intersection of public service and cultural identity. What stories do you think this fountain could tell? This image invites us to reflect on the gaze through which we perceive different cultures, and to consider the power dynamics inherent in that gaze.