The rise of islamic art

On the year that marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Calouste Gulbenkian, this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue seek to understand the growing fascination with Orientalism developed by the collector and his contemporaries, through masterpieces of Islamic art from the Founder's Collection and other important international collections.0Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian (1869-1955) was of Armenian origin, born in the Ottoman Empire, and educated in Europe. Throughout his adult life he brought together these diverse cultures, from East and West, in his work in the oil industry, his philanthropy, and his collecting.0Using his own collections of art, books and archives, as well as some key loans from Musée du Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum, the exhibition aims to develop our understanding of the relationship between collecting and Realpolitik, pin-pointing the remarkable synergies between Gulbenkian?s collecting activities c.1900-1930 and concurrent developments in the field of ?Islamic art?.00Exhibition: Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal (12.07.-07.10.2019).