Focusing on the representation of the 'East' image in art and history during the 19th century, the exhibition offers a new reading through the artist's works, considered alongside those of Western Orientalist painters.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York, one of the world's most important art institutions, is preparing a comprehensive exhibition focusing on 19th-century Orientalism. Titled "Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy," the exhibition will open in June 2026 and will bring the works of Osman Hamdi Bey to the international art scene.
The exhibition will be open to the public from June 12 to February 28 and will examine how Orientalism took shape in the context of art, colonialism, imperialism, and modernization. The selection, featuring approximately 180 works, covers a wide range of fields including painting, photography, textiles, architecture, and decorative arts.
Prepared as a collaboration between The Met's European Paintings and Islamic Art departments, this exhibition marks the institution's first major project focusing on Orientalism. Works by Osman Hamdi Bey will be exhibited alongside those of contemporary Western Orientalist painters such as Jean-Leon Gerome. This encounter offers an opportunity to re-evaluate the artist's relationship with Western tradition and the unique visual language he developed.
The Met describes Osman Hamdi Bey as one of the most important artists reflecting Ottoman modernization from an insider's perspective, while considering his works a powerful counter-voice to the narrative of an "exoticized East."
Simultaneously with this international exhibition, a selection of the artist's works continues to be on display at the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum in Istanbul. The collection, which includes works such as "The Tortoise Trainer" and "Two Musician Girls," presents Osman Hamdi Bey's multifaceted world of art and thought to the audience.
Source: https://tr.euronews.com/kultur/2026/05/20/the-metten-oryantalizm-sergisi-osman-hamdi-bey-de-seckide