Unidentified Mosque with a Dragon-like Devil Hovering Above 1570

This 1570 engraving by Melchior Lorck depicts a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. The artist, a Danish painter and draftsman, visited the Ottoman Empire in the 1550s. Lorck's depiction of the mosque with a devilish figure hovering above it reflects the contemporary European perception of Islam as a dangerous and threatening force. The detail in the architecture and the use of hatching and cross-hatching are characteristic of engraving techniques of the time. The artwork provides a fascinating glimpse into European perceptions of the Islamic world during the 16th century.