"I would spend hours studying every corner of those paintings, finding in them what I thought to be Ottoman Istanbul in all its unspoiled glory. I derived this sweet illusion not from the gouaches whose attention to detail is worthy of an architect or a mathematician but from the engravings that were later made from them. At times when I was most desperate to belive in a glorious past - and those of us overly impressed by Western art and literature do often succumb to this sort of Istanbul chauvinism - I found Melling's engraving consoling. But even as I allow myself to be transported, I am aware that part of what makes Melling's paintings so beautiful is the sad knowledge that what they depict no longer exists. Perhaps I look at these paintings precisely because they do make me sad."
Pamuk em Istanbul. olhar para--
antoine ignace melling, aqui, a viagem pitoresca de Constantinopla e dos rios do Bósforo.
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