The Grand Bazaar

This is one of the two paintings of the Grand Bazaar –featured in the exhibition– by Preziosi, who often presented genre scenes from İstanbul in his unique style. The artist incorporated diverse scenes from the Bazaar in a number of his paintings. This venue, particular to İstanbul, has been of great interest to Western artists, and in Edmondo de Amicis’s words “is not just a building but a town”. The Grand Bazaar, which housed shops for a wide range of commercial goods and catered to almost all of the needs of customers, offered an incredible visual richness and diversity to the Western artist. A reflection of this opulence is also evident in Preziosi’s painting, which includes numerous details from the daily life.