A Turkish Notary and Two Women
1835–36
Medium
Graphite, watercolor
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 1/8 × 11 1/4 in. (18.1 × 28.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harry G. Sperling Fund, 2013
Accession Number
2013.553
Art Historical Context
Martin Rørbye’s “A Turkish Notary and Two Women” offers a quiet glimpse into daily life in the Ottoman Empire during the artist’s travels in the mid-1830s. with graphite and watercolor on modest sheet, the drawing captures a notary engaged with two women, suggesting an everyday transaction or conversation. Rørbye, a Danish painter associated with the Golden Age, often recorded such scenes while abroad, reflecting the era’s growing European fascination with Eastern cultures. The choice of watercolor and graphite allowed Rørbye to work quickly and with luminous color while traveling. This mediu...