Hoofd van een Turkse man, naar links beneden kijkend, en het hoofd van een Turkse vrouw 1620 - 1657

Stefano della Bella made this etching of two Turkish heads in the 17th century. The print provides us with a glimpse into the cultural fascination with the Ottoman Empire in Europe at the time. During this period, encounters between Europe and the Ottoman world were frequent through trade, diplomacy, and military conflict. Visual representations of Turkish people became popular as Europeans tried to understand and depict this ‘exotic’ culture. The artist's focus on costume and physiognomy is typical of the time. It reflects a desire to document and classify different ethnic groups. But it can also reproduce stereotypes. Della Bella likely never visited Turkey himself. He would have relied on second-hand accounts and existing visual tropes. As historians, we can use sources such as travel logs, diplomatic records, and costume books to understand the context in which these images were produced and consumed. This helps us to understand how cultural exchange took place, as well as how perceptions of the ‘Orient’ were constructed in the European imagination.