The Seraglio (Aubry de La Mottraye's "Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of Africa...," London, 1724, vol. I, pl. 18)
Medium
Etching and engraving; second state of two
Dimensions
plate: 10 x 13 7/8 in. (25.4 x 35.2 cm) sheet: 10 15/16 x 14 1/16 in. (27.8 x 35.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1932
Accession Number
32.35(222)
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the exotic world of the Ottoman Empire through *The Seraglio*, a captivating etching and engraving from 1723–24, featured as plate 18 in I of Aubry de Mottraye's *Travels throughout Europe, Asia and into Part of* (London, 1724). This second-state print depicts an intimate interior scene alive with men and women dancing, offering European audiences a rare glimpse into the luxurious seraglio— the private quarters of a sultan's palace. De La Mottraye, a French traveler and author, documented his adventures, fueling the 18th-century fascination with Orientalism during the Enlightenment. ...
About the Artist
William Hogarth|Jean Baptiste Vanmour|Aubry de La Mottraye · 1697–1764
William Hogarth (1697-1764) was an English painter, printmaker, and pictorial satirist who became the first great English-born artist to attract admiration abroad. Born into poverty in London, the son of a failed schoolmaster who was imprisoned for debt, Hogarth's early experiences with the harsh realities of 18th-century urban life profoundly shaped his artistic vision. After apprenticing with si...