Bulgarian Village 1838

John Frederick Lewis created this lithograph, Bulgarian Village, in the 19th Century, a period when Western European artists were increasingly drawn to the ‘Orient’ for inspiration. Lewis spent considerable time in the Ottoman Empire, and his work provides a glimpse into a world largely unfamiliar to his British audience. But let’s consider the politics of imagery, the power dynamics at play when a British artist represents a Bulgarian village. Bulgaria was then under Ottoman rule, and the ‘Orient’ was often exoticized, romanticized, or even stereotyped in Western art. Notice the architectural details, the dress of the figures, and the overall atmosphere. Do they align with historical accounts of Bulgarian life in the 19th century, or do they reflect a Western fantasy? To fully understand this artwork, we can consult travelogues, historical records, and studies of Orientalism. This will help us understand the complex interplay between artistic representation and social context.