The Ahırkapı Lighthouse

Diemer, who masterfully portrayed in seascapes, has a number of drawings and paintings featuring Istanbul and the Dardanelles. In his Istanbul paintings, the artist portrayed the sailboats or steamboats cruising at different parts of the Marmara or the Bosphorus together with the views of the city in the background. In this particular painting, he turns his gaze to the city in a manner that sets the Ahırkapı Lighthouse –the one commissioned by Sultan Abdülmecid– in the foreground. The kinds of ships frequently encountered in his other paintings are depicted as they entering the Bosphorus from the Marmara Sea. The work presents a view of the city from the sea. In this respect, it complements other paintings featured in the exhibition by various artists, which portray Sarayburnu (the Seraglio Point) and the entrance to the Bosphorus.