En mand med turban 1774

Georg Mathias Fuchs made this print, "A Man with a Turban," at an unknown date using engraving techniques. Such images of exotic figures were in vogue in the 18th century. The image creates meaning through visual codes, cultural references, and historical associations. It likely dates from the mid-18th century in Denmark or Germany. Artists catered to collectors' tastes for the exotic and the foreign. It reflects the influence of expanding trade routes and European encounters with diverse cultures. Figures in turbans became shorthand for "the Orient" in the European imagination. The Spengler Collection indicates this print was owned by someone of means who wished to display cosmopolitan tastes. Looking at the artist's biography and the provenance of the print helps us understand how tastes for this imagery developed within particular social circles and institutions. Art history is, in this sense, a history of the public role of images.