Golden Horn from Pierre Loti

golden horn by baruyr bardizbanyan

I like old Istanbul pictures, not because I am nostalgic or anything but because they show a less crowded, greener and calmer Istanbul, not spoiled by greed which turned it into cacophony of ugly buildings and structures that do not belong to the city or anywhere, as a matter of fact.

On this oil on fibreboard painting by Baruyr Bardizbanyan (1887-1932), we see a glimpse of Golden Horn as seen from Pierre Loti Hill. The name of the hill comes from the cafe dedicated to Pierre Loti (Louis Marie Julien Viaud, 1850-1923) whose nick was said to be given by Tahitians and was the name of an exotic flower. He first came to Istanbul as a navy officer in 1876 and wrote about the places he had been.

Dimensions: 36.5x50 cm.
Estimated Value: $ 5,000

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