The Inside of a Mosque, the Dervishes Dancing (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, vol. I, pl. 16) 1723 - 1724

This print by William Hogarth, made in London in 1724, depicts whirling dervishes inside a possible mosque. Hogarth’s image comes from Aubry de La Mottraye’s illustrated travelogue, a popular genre in the eighteenth century. Here, Hogarth reproduces a scene of non-European religious practice. In the foreground, dervishes are shown in mid-whirl. This is a practice performed by Sufi Muslims, who seek a deepened connection with God through physical and spiritual exertion. Around the edges, other men watch the ritual. Hogarth’s image gives us a sense of the spatial dynamics of the mosque, as well as a glimpse into the social hierarchy of the time. Travelogues such as this one offer historians insight into the cultural attitudes of the time. Through them, we can explore the ways in which foreign cultures were understood, represented, and consumed by European audiences. These images remind us that our understanding of art is always shaped by the social and institutional context in which it is made.