Market day, Constantinople

After Alberto Pasini's many adventurous expeditions to the Orient and the Mediterranean we see in the 1880s a maturity in his oeuvre. He was enjoying considerable success and had met an enthusiastic response from the French critics, who deemed Pasini 'a new Canaletto.'

In the present painting we see a world of contrasts, the bright costumes of the Turkish women gathered in veiled clusters holding their parasols engaging yet exclusive. To the right a male group of market traders and stall holders portrays a confident informality.

Pasini's supreme command of the techniques of drawing was learnt in his youth, whilst he studied lithography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Parma, where he illustrated an album on the architecture and history of the region. It is the fine observation of the architecture of Constantinople and other cities that create the backdrop to so many of his paintings. The light reflects off the pale stone walls to illuminate the exotic locations in a direct contrast to the flatter, greyer light of the West. The popular, often seen motif of an arch or doorway draws the viewer deep into the mysterious world that lies beyond.