The lure of the orient : the Schranzes, the Brockdorffs, Preziosi and other artists

Abstract

The lure of the Golden Orient has been a well-known phenomenon of western culture - especially in the world of art - as far back as the fifteenth century. It looks akin to the fascination for the strange and the exotic, often finding vague expression in parading rare equatorial creatures, such as zebras, lions and various species of monkeys. In fact towards the end of the seventeenth century, the mystique for the magical world of the Orient became palpable. In all probability, the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 had had an accelerating effect; if nothing else, it had brought one of the main centres of eastern exoticism to the shores of the Bosphorus - right on the door-step of Europe. Travellers were enticed to Malta, due to its relative accessibility, to its ties with the Order and the concomitant historical associations, and in particular on account of the cosmopolitan character of its society of which the Oriental element was far stronger than is generally imagined.