Lot Essay
In 1867 Pasini returned to Constantinople where he was commissioned by Sultan Abdul Mecit to paint Attacco della cavalleria turca (see Cardova, op. cit., no. 410) and Attacco militere con nave all'orizzante (ibid., no. 411). Pasini stayed in Constantinople until 1869, studying the architecture and the culture which he rendered in paint in beautiful 'gem-like' colours. During his stay he painted several market scenes of which Mercato a Costantinopoli is a prime example. Painted in 1868 he depicts a market scene on the Golden Horn with veiled Turkish women dressed in colourful clothes, the Yeni Djami mosque in the background.
Pasini was often compared to Fromentin and, like the latter, he was struck by the delicacy of light in the East; both this and his strength in almost photographically depicting the architecture are clearly visible in the present work.
The artist '...excelled in group compositions of horses, their shiny rumps towards the spectator, held by simple soldiers who mix with merchants and passers-by' (L. Thornton, The Orientalists, Painter-Travellers 1828-1908, Paris, 1983, p. 124).
See also note to lot 147.
Pasini was often compared to Fromentin and, like the latter, he was struck by the delicacy of light in the East; both this and his strength in almost photographically depicting the architecture are clearly visible in the present work.
The artist '...excelled in group compositions of horses, their shiny rumps towards the spectator, held by simple soldiers who mix with merchants and passers-by' (L. Thornton, The Orientalists, Painter-Travellers 1828-1908, Paris, 1983, p. 124).
See also note to lot 147.