←Jean Baptiste Vanmour

Museums → Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam → Paintings
Description (auto translated):
Derwishes or Islamic holy men took a special place in the religiously tolerant Istanbul. Just as Christian monks roamed some derwishes across the country or across town, while others lived in communities or orders. The most famous item is that of the Mevlevi dervishes, the followers of the philosopher and mystical poet Rumi (1207-1273), also known as Mevlana, 'our master' is mentioned. Mevlevi dervishes try through prayer, music and whirling dance to get in touch with Allah. Their right hand is at the dance facing up to receive the heavenly blessing, which they pass on the left hand to the ground. The followers of Mevlana lived mentioned in tekkes, also called Whirling Dervish Hall. Vanmour painted the Mevlevihane standing near the Palais de Hollande in Pera. It was the oldest of the city and was next to a prayer hall or ballroom (semahane) of rooms for the dervishes, a room and a special prayer for their leader the sheikh, a female section, a library, dining room and kitchen, a public fountain a bell chamber from which the prayer time was announced and a cemetery. The ceremony began when the leader of the dervishes left his seat and stood at the edge of the dance floor to speak to his followers. Vanmour depicted him right on the painting in the contemplative attitude that he would assume during the entire ceremony. After this the derwishes saluted their leader, one by one, as the two men in the foreground do that, and then they began their prayers. Due to the rhythm of the music in the same place to run laps they were in a trance. The derwishes bear the characteristic cylindrical hat, sikke, and long woolen dress when rotating in a nice circle to see around them zwierde.Op the balcony, which we left above, played flute. Vanmour two spectators have shown very prominently. They stand behind the railing near the seat of the religious leader and their features are similar to those of Patrona Halil and his accomplice Muslu Bese. Why Vanmour these protagonists of the uprising of 1730 has shown so prominently is unclear. It does help us to be received by the date of the painting, which between October 1730 (just after the uprising) and November 1730 (the murder of Patrona Halil and his associates).
c. 1720 - c. 1737
H 76 cm x W 101 cm * whole: w 7.2 kg
SKU: 271988