To mark the opening of the exhibition “France, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire: Artistic Alliances,” researchers and art historians from France, Sweden, as well as the United Kingdom and the United States, offer a fresh perspective on the ties forged between these three regions in the 18th century.
Each presentation will outline the historical and geopolitical context of exchanges between France, Sweden and the Ottoman Empire, while exploring the reciprocal influences that shaped the visual arts, architecture and ways of life. Program 10:00 – 10:15 Welcome and introduction Moderator: Olof Heilo, Director of the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul In English Alliances and geopolitics 10:15 – 11:00 At the Edges of Europe: Swedish-Ottoman Contacts in the Age of Enlightenment Olof Heilo In English 11:00 – 11:45 A Taste of France at the Sublime Porte: 1569–1787 Olivier Bouquet, Professor of Ottoman History, Université Paris Cité In French 11:45 – 12:30 The Illustrations in Mouradgea d’Ohsson’s “Tableau général de l’Empire othoman” Martin Olin, Director of Collections, Nationalmuseum, Stockholm In English The visual arts 14:00 – 14:45 Power and visibility of the Ottoman world through painting Frédéric Hitzel, researcher at the CNRS, at the Centre d’histoire du Domaine Turc at EHESS, Paris In French 14:45 – 15:30 A moving landscape: the view from the Swedish Palace in Pera, transplanted to Stockholm and Biby Alyson Wharton-Durgaryan, Celsing Fellow at the Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford In English 15:30 – 16:15 Dressing à la Turque – the Marie-Antoinette portrait by Adolphe Ulrik Wertmüller Kendra Van Cleave, Kent State University In English 16:15 – 16:30 Conclusion by Olof Heilo In English In collaboration with Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. Thanks to the Björn and Inger Savén Foundation. Practical information - In English and French - Free admission, but registration is required for the morning session (10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.) and/or the afternoon session (1:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.): click here Speakers Olof HEILO Olof Heilo received his PhD in Byzantine history from the University of Vienna in 2010 and taught Middle Eastern history at Lund University from 2012 to 2017. Since 2022, he has been Director of the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul. His work focuses mainly on religious, cultural and political narratives, as well as on the uses of history in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, with particular attention to empires. In collaboration with the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, he recently published a book on the Swedish presence in the city, from the 18th century to the present day. Olivier BOUQUET Olivier Bouquet is Professor of Ottoman History at Université Paris Cité and a senior member of the Institut universitaire de France. His research is devoted to Turkish and Ottoman history. A former student of Sciences Po and INALCO, he completed his history thesis at EHESS before teaching, notably, at Galatasaray University in Istanbul. He is the author of numerous books, including Pourquoi l’Empire ottoman ? (Gallimard, 2022). Martin OLIN Martin Olin is Director of Collections at Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, and holds a PhD in art history. He was Deputy Director of the Swedish Institute in Rome between 2013 and 2015. His research focuses on European art and architecture around 1700, particularly the work of Nicodème Tessin le Jeune. He has also written on 19th-century Scandinavian painting and is currently preparing an exhibition devoted to art and seaside tourism between 1870 and 1945. Frédéric HITZEL Frédéric Hitzel holds a PhD in history (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne) and a degree in Turkish language (INALCO). Formerly a researcher at the Institut français d’études anatoliennes in Istanbul (1990-1995), he is now a researcher at the CNRS, affiliated with EHESS’s Centre d’histoire du Domaine turc, now CETOBaC. His research focuses on the history of the Ottoman Empire in the modern period, with a particular interest in the arts and material culture. He has curated numerous exhibitions and served as Secretary General of the 14th International Congress of Turkish Art, held at the Collège de France in 2011. Since then, he has organized several seminar series at the Institut d’études de l’Islam et des sociétés du monde musulman (IISMM‑EHESS). Alyson WHARTON-DURGARYAN Alyson Wharton-Durgaryan is Celsing Fellow at the Khalili Research Centre at the University of Oxford, where she researches the Celsing family’s art collection — the brothers Ulric and Gustav, as well as their father Gustav the Elder. They held important diplomatic and commercial positions that influenced relations between Sweden and the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century, while also being active figures in Orientalism, patrons, and promoters of the arts and print culture. For ten years, she was a lecturer and researcher at the University of Lincoln. Previously, from 2012 to 2015, she was an assistant professor at Artuklu University in Mardin, Turkey. Her work focuses on Armenian and Ottoman art, architecture and visual culture. Kendra VAN CLEAVE Kendra Van Cleave is a fashion historian, academic librarian and costume maker based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has studied and reconstructed historical dress for nearly twenty years, with a current specialization in the 18th century. Holding master’s degrees in history and information science, she publishes research on the history of dress. Her reconstructions have received several awards. In 2023, she published Dressing à la Turque: Ottoman Influence on French Fashion, 1670–1800.
Source: paris.fr — photo: Cornelius Loos (1686-1738), "Utsikt med Sulimanmoskén och gamla Seraljen". Photo Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. The format of the work has been modified.