Albaanse strijder uit het Ottomaanse leger 1857 - 1905

Nikolay Semyonovich Mosolov created this print of an Albanian fighter in the Ottoman army sometime in the late 19th century. It presents us with an image of the Ottoman Empire at a time when its power was in decline, and the idea of who counted as ‘Ottoman’ was becoming contested. The image shows a soldier resting in a sparsely furnished interior. Mosolov uses the visual codes of orientalism to give a sense of place. But the image also invites questions about the social conditions that shape artistic production. Mosolov was a Russian artist, trained in St. Petersburg, and it is important to remember that Russia and the Ottoman Empire were often in conflict. Historical sources can give us insight into how the Albanian people were viewed by the Ottoman Empire, and how they fit within the Russian understanding of the region. Ultimately, the meaning of this artwork is contingent on its social and institutional context.