A Turkish Araba Drawn by Two White Oxen, Constantinople 1841

John Frederick Lewis captured this watercolor of a Turkish Araba in Constantinople, likely during his extended travels in the East. The image presents a carefully constructed tableau reflecting the Orientalist fascination of 19th-century European artists. Notice the opulence of the carriage, juxtaposed with the white oxen, adorned but still beasts of burden. Lewis, like many of his contemporaries, was interested in depicting what he saw as the exotic otherness of the East, often through the lens of class and power dynamics. These works reinforced a Western gaze that romanticized and, simultaneously, objectified the cultures he encountered. The emotional resonance of this piece lies in its quiet stillness, a moment captured, yet heavy with the implications of cultural exchange viewed through a colonial lens. How do you feel when considering the representation of labor, wealth, and cultural encounter depicted here?