Painting Collection


Felix Ziem

Hagia Sophia and the Walls of Istanbul

 
(1821—1911)
Hagia Sophia and the Walls of Istanbul
1874
oil on canvas
32 x 50 inches

This piece presents a light-filled scene with its broad, loaded brushstrokes and bright palette, capturing the effects of sunlight on views of an exotic city. The mystical atmosphere of the Orient gave to the artist’s palette a bewildering symphony of brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. Ziem's vivid splashes of color dance across the canvas in an attempt to transcend the changing light of the hours and seasons to the viewer.  The brightly painted sails seem to float in the air above the domes of the mosque and their reflections in the water of the sparkling blue lagoon, with the white towers of the city gleaming in the distance.


 

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