Udsigt mod Konstantinopel 1836

Editor: This is Martinus Rørbye's "View Towards Constantinople," made in 1836 with pencil and ink. It's quite delicate, almost like a faded memory. There's such a focus on detail in the city skyline, contrasted with the rather gestural depiction of the foreground. How would you interpret this work? Curator: It's important to consider the very act of Rørbye making this drawing, the labor involved. This wasn't a quick snapshot. The pencil and ink suggest a deliberate process, perhaps sketching on-site and refining later. How does this laborious act reflect on the Western consumption of the "Orient," the making of it available and consumable to audiences back home? Editor: So you're saying the very medium shapes how the "Orient" is perceived, turning a place into a commodity? Curator: Exactly. And think about the availability of materials: the paper, the ink, the pencils themselves. All objects produced through a web of industry and trade, enabling Rørbye, a European artist, to depict a foreign land. Consider where those raw materials were sourced, the labor involved in producing them, and the social structures that enabled Rørbye's artistic journey in the first place. Editor: It shifts my perspective quite a bit. It's no longer just about Rørbye’s gaze. I guess it's also about the colonial implications embedded in the artistic materials. Curator: Precisely! By considering materiality, we uncover the socio-economic networks underpinning the image itself. So what has this reflection unveiled for you? Editor: I see it as a lens through which to critically examine the artwork as a product of its time and the unequal relationships between Europe and the "Orient." It makes me question the inherent power dynamics. Thank you.