Falling for the Sultan

So today I went to “Inspired by the East” exhibition at the British Museum on how Islamic and far eastern culture has influenced western art. https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/inspired-east-how-islamic-world-influenced-western-art

Oh those bold colours! It has only increased my love of calligraphy and pattern but more importantly, I came across this guy.

Sultan Bayezit i, a fourteenth century Ottoman Sultan.

Portraiture is not something I’m keen on, I much prefer landscapes with plenty to look at. But even I struggle to acquire art for my home. I have plenty of photographs to remind me of happy times with loved ones, but what about art to inspire me and evoke emotion.

Most of us forget the massive opportunity our empty walls contain, assuming art is something for the elite or educated, expensive and beyond the understanding of the average joe. We might buy a watercolour print from a street seller on the last night of our holiday and put it in a drawer never to be looked at again, or worse inherit some awful painting from a relative that you’ve never liked and does nothing for your home. But as for choosing a picture to put on the wall, it can be overwhelming.

My advice is to go to a gallery and have a wander. Look at all different types until you find something that you want to take a deeper look at. You don’t need to understand everything about it, you don’t need to “get” what the artist was thinking. The beauty of art is it’s subjectivity so you can think whatever you like. The important thing is that it made you feel something. And if you liked the feeling, even better. In this case it was the beautiful quality of the light that has been captured in this painting that originally drew my attention.

But aside from its artistic skill, it seems to perfectly freeze a moment in time, a moment of tangible intimacy. What really made this piece stick in my mind, is the feeling that he has turned around only to find me watching him. Of seeing and being seen.

When I choose things for my home I like to tell a story or make a connection. That’s what makes them unique and special. And as I went on to wander about the other halls and exhibits, I kept seeing him. The artist has managed to paint his subject as if his eyes are following the viewer around the room. And every time my eyes met his I was reminded of that happy feeling.

And as luck would have it, when I entered the shop he was sitting there waiting for me. Our eyes met and I bought him so that every day I can be reminded of the most powerful of human connections, of seeing and being seen.

So the next time you come across a piece of art that inspires a real reaction, that makes you think or feel, buy a little print or even a postcard, get it in a frame and on the wall and start curating a little collection of your own.

If you fancy meeting Sultan Bayezit i yourself, the exhibition runs until January 26th at the British Museum.