“Bosporus Beats” Explores Europe’s Changing Views of Istanbul
A Berlin exhibition that examines fascination, prejudice, and cultural encounter
May 22nd, 2026
The exhibition Bosporus Beats: Views of Istanbul from 1500 to 1800 opened at Berlin’s on February 13, 2026, bringing together drawings, prints, and rare books that trace how Istanbul was seen, imagined, and represented in Europe over three centuries.
Running until May 31, the exhibition focuses on works on paper depicting the Ottoman capital and its inhabitants, revealing the complex cultural connections between Central Europe and the metropolis on the Bosporus. Rather than presenting a single image of Istanbul, the exhibition examines how artistic representations shifted between curiosity, admiration, political propaganda, and stereotyping.
Among the featured artists are Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Jean-Étienne Liotard, and Daniel Chodowiecki. Their works, alongside rare prints and illustrated books, reflect Europe’s long-standing fascination with Ottoman culture while also exposing the political and ideological frameworks through which that fascination was often filtered.
At the centre of the exhibition are the depictions of Istanbul created by, who lived in the city for many years while working for Sultan Selim III and Hatice Sultan. His detailed views of Istanbul occupy a distinct position within the exhibition because they combine the observational closeness of a resident with the visual techniques of European artistic tradition. The exhibition draws particular attention to this dual perspective, echoed in the writings of the Turkish author, who described Melling’s works as representations shaped simultaneously by familiarity and distance.
Structured around themes such as “Contact,” “Curiosity,” “Conflict,” “Propaganda,” and “Prejudice,” the exhibition places historical artworks in dialogue with contemporary questions surrounding identity, representation, and cultural perception. Contemporary artistic interventions further expand this framework, encouraging visitors to consider how images not only document societies, but also shape political and cultural attitudes across time.
Spanning the period from the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453 to the establishment of diplomatic relations with Prussia in the eighteenth century, Bosporus Beats positions Istanbul not as a distant subject of observation, but as a city at the centre of artistic, political, and cultural exchange between Europe and the Ottoman world.
