The Street

Brest, who often chose as subjects for his İstanbul paintings, the squares, marketplaces, and street scenes where people mingled, depicts a scene in which landscape is intertwined with daily life in this work. Although Teophile Gauthier speaks of a “picturesque precision” when referring to Brest’s “The Hippodrome”, most of the artist’s İstanbul paintings are “capriccios”, rather than depictions of reality. As manifested in this painting, in the works he completed upon his return to his country, based on the sketches and designs he made during his stay in İstanbul, Brest successfully created an İstanbul atmosphere. In his paintings, often juxtaposed against architectural elements, figures dressed in colorful garments gain prominence as elements that enrich this atmosphere created through the use of pastel colors.