Luigi Mayer

Born in Rome, Luigi Mayer was an Italo-German painter. He was a pupil of well-known engraver J.B. Piranesi, and worked mostly for the circle of Sir. R. Ainslie, ambassador of Britain to the Sublime Gate between 1776 and 1792. The ambassador financed Mayer's journey who brought back drawing snapshots of the Ottoman empire at the time. His voyage brought him to places like current Türkiye, Greece, Bulgaria, Wallachia, Syria, Palestine, to name a few.

Probably the best legacy of that journey remains a series of writings, like "Views in the Ottoman empire, chiefly in Caramania ...", "Views in Palestine", "Views in Egypt", which constitutes multi volume books co-written with Sir. R. Ainslie, and based on drawings and paintings in Europa, Asia and some of the Mediterranean islands, all under the control of the Ottomans, with illustrations and historical descriptions.

Mayer depicted everyday scenes, subjects and monuments, making his work a invaluable dive into the atmosphere and social life at the time. Mostly watercolors and gouaches of which we selected some examples here.

While orientalism was more clearly established in the 19th, Mayer's work accounts for a real contribution to the roots of that movement: a love for its exoticism, oriental subjects in the form of charming and picturesque paintings, with scenes clearly refined to suit the tastes of a European audience.