Old Farmhouse, Constantinople 

Muirhead Bone made this drawing of an old farmhouse in Constantinople using graphite on paper. This image offers us a glimpse into the social and urban transformations happening in the city. Bone's choice of subject matter is revealing. Rather than focusing on the iconic Ottoman architecture, he directs our attention to the everyday life of the city, the vernacular buildings, and the ordinary people going about their business. The sketchiness of the drawing style and the bleakness of the light reflects the urban landscape undergoing rapid change, losing its traditional character in the face of modernization. To fully understand this drawing, one would need to dig into the archives, to explore the photography and the documents that would reveal the nature of urban change in Constantinople at this time. This artwork reminds us that the meaning of art is always contingent on its historical context.