Isfahan bazaar 

Edwin Lord Weeks made this painting of the Isfahan bazaar with oil on canvas. Weeks was one of many nineteenth-century painters who turned to the "Orient" for inspiration. But what exactly was he looking for? Consider the way he has represented textiles in this painting. The carpet hanging in the background is not just a detail but a focal point, as are the clothes worn by the figures. These have a rich, tactile quality and invite close attention. Weeks’s brushstrokes capture the texture of the woven surfaces, their patterns rendered with care. While Weeks exoticized the scene, the painting also hints at the labor and skill invested in the textiles. Rug-making, in particular, was a major industry in Persia at this time, employing countless weavers, dyers, and designers. By foregrounding these objects, Weeks inadvertently draws attention to the economic and social context in which they were made. Recognizing the labor and cultural exchange embedded in materials challenges conventional art history, which has traditionally emphasized the artist's singular vision over the collective effort of craft production.