A Turk c. late 19th century

Editor: This is "A Turk" by Alexandre Bida, from the late 19th century, rendered in what looks like pencil or some kind of print. I’m immediately struck by its… fleeting quality, like catching a memory just as it fades. It's detailed, yet feels unfinished, you know? What do you make of it? Curator: Fleeting…yes, perfectly put. I feel as if I've caught this man just before he vanished. I’m thinking a late 19th-century artist would’ve been captivated by the “exotic East,” and preliminary sketches like this served as invaluable first impressions. You almost get a sense that the artist has made their sketch from observation in the moment? What story could this man tell us, if he had a chance? Editor: It does have a quality of a traveler documenting something interesting in a foreign land! That's an interesting point. Do you think Bida was consciously trying to romanticize the “exotic East” through this kind of idealized image? Curator: Perhaps. It’s a snapshot, certainly, but filtered through Bida's gaze. The light pencil work almost feels like a veil, obscuring true understanding whilst creating an aura of mystery. We could get caught up arguing over Orientalism until the cows come home. It's better to look at it simply as an idea… a captured moment, not mired in the complicated politics of its time. Editor: That’s helpful context, reframing it as an idea rather than a fully formed statement. I see it now as more of a quick note, jotted down on a journey. Thank you! Curator: And thank you, that idea about "a memory just as it fades" has stuck with me and really coloured my view of it! Art history is such a joy for sharing new ways of seeing!