Dervish 

Konstantin Egorovich Makovsky created this painting titled ‘Dervish’ sometime before his death in 1915. Makovsky was known for his idealised and romanticised depictions of Russian life, but here he turns his gaze to the figure of a Dervish, a member of a Sufi religious order known for their ecstatic rituals. There is a tension in this artwork which is rooted in questions of identity and representation. While the subject of the painting is ostensibly the Dervish, the image is inevitably filtered through Makovsky’s own cultural lens as a Russian artist working within a specific historical and social context. In rendering this figure, Makovsky is participating in a long history of Orientalism, the Western representation of Middle Eastern and Asian cultures, which often exoticizes and romanticizes its subjects. Consider the ways in which the Dervish is presented. Is it an accurate portrayal of Sufi religious practices? Or does it perpetuate certain stereotypes and assumptions about non-Western cultures? This painting is more than just a portrait; it is a cultural encounter mediated by the artist's perspective, inviting us to consider the power dynamics inherent in the act of representation.