Favorita del Turco 1598

Christoph Krieger’s print, Favorita del Turco, is a small engraving of a woman, made to be included in a book. At first glance, the title positions the woman as an object of desire, yet the term “favorita” carries a weight of historical complexity. The "Turco" denotes the Ottoman Empire, a significant power with a rich and complex cultural heritage. The woman, adorned in elaborate dress, stands as a symbol of the intersection between the West’s fascination with, and misrepresentation of, the East. Her clothing marks her as “other,” yet her figure is rendered in a European style, a visual embodiment of the West's selective appropriation of Eastern culture. This image invites us to consider how identity can be both imposed and performed, especially in contexts marked by cultural exchange and power dynamics. The woman’s own voice is absent, leaving us to question what her own narrative might be, beyond the frame of orientalist fantasy.