Man met lange pijp 1731 - 1780

Cornelius Heinrich Hemerich created this print of a man with a long pipe, but its date remains unknown. The figure’s clothing and turban mark him as Turkish. This imagery was popular in Europe at a time of increasing trade and diplomatic relationships with the Ottoman Empire. We can see the fascination with Turkish culture reflected in the Rococo style of the decorative border, combining European and ‘Oriental’ motifs. The man is depicted in a posture of leisure, smoking a long-stemmed pipe. Smoking was a social activity often associated with coffee drinking and intellectual discussion. The inclusion of these details suggests how the artist would have understood Turkish culture. Prints like these, often collected in albums, were a way of categorizing knowledge. Understanding the cultural context and institutional history of printmaking helps us to interpret this image and the social dynamics of its time.