3 moskéer, hver med 1 minaret; i himlen en flyvende drage med lang hale 1570

Editor: Here we have a fascinating cityscape entitled "3 mosques, each with 1 minaret; in the sky a flying dragon with long tail," a woodcut and engraving created around 1570 by Melchior Lorck. It gives off a sort of fantastical and imposing vibe, almost dreamlike with that dragon overhead. What strikes you most about this image? Curator: Oh, the dragon for sure! It’s that playful incongruity that grabs me. It speaks of faraway lands and, in 1570, those fantastical ideas *were* the real image many people had of Ottoman Istanbul. It's almost like a Renaissance fever dream of the exotic East. Notice the detail in the mosques; the artist is clearly trying to convey a certain kind of impressive architecture, and what seems like, almost scientific perspective, though slightly off, contrasts with the completely made-up dragon, which is so naive in representation. Do you see how these clash and also oddly harmonize to express this cultural encounter? Editor: Absolutely! I hadn’t considered how the dragon embodies the "exotic East" as it was perceived then. But what about the people depicted in the lower section? Curator: Ah, a lovely contrast, isn't it? We're placed amidst a kind of ordinary street scene. See how small they are? It adds a sense of monumentality to the buildings. You also feel as though we're getting a true and honest view of this magnificent foreign city and its culture. The people are going about their day just as anyone else might. This is so captivating for me! I am totally enchanted by it. Editor: I see! It’s interesting how the detailed rendering of the city grounds the mythical dragon, while the dragon's presence amplifies the city’s exoticism. I feel I see this piece now through very different eyes. Curator: Exactly! That tension is what makes it so compelling. A clash of worlds seen through a very specific, Western European lens. It makes you wonder what Lorck truly thought when he sketched and rendered the scene!