Félix Ziem

After studying at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Dijon, Ziem soon left the region of his birth to travel first to Italy, then Russia and the Ottoman Empire. In 1847, he made his first trip to Constantinople, which marked him deeply. In 1850, he started exhibiting views of the Bosphorus at the Paris Salon.

In the present painting, Ziem has chosen the light fading at the end of the day to illustrate the effects of the sun on the Black Sea. An almost white dot in the centre of the composition, the sun still seems to be blinding. Framing the view on either side, a kiosk and a ship are bathed in a pink light heralding sunset. A thick mist hovers over the city, making the quaysides almost invisible. Th silhouette of the mosque of Hagia Sophia, immediately recognizable with its dome and minarets, stands out in this dense, warm atmosphere, majestically dominating Constantinople.

Although already showing hints of Impressionism, Ziem was more interested in representing the atmosphere and sensations he experienced in the city. In this suggestive impression of Constantinople, he also follows firmly in the footsteps of the Orientalists: Ziem gives us an enchanted vision of the Ottoman city, which seems to be suspended in a timeless moment.