Painting of the Day: Two Turks, with a Servant, 1828-1840

Two Turks, with a Servant, Smoking on a Terrace Overlooking a Lake or Sea in Turkey or Greece
William Page
British, 1828-1840
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This graceful painting has been saddled with a very cumbersome title, “Two Turks, with a Servant, Smoking on a Terrace Overlooking a Lake or Sea in Turkey or Greece.”  It is the work of William Page (1794-1872). This William Page is a British painter, not to be confused with the American artist of the same name who lived roughly during the same period.  Page demonstrates his delicate skill with watercolors in this work on rough paper.  Highlights and details are accentuated in pencils.

Painted between 1828-1840, the work is inscribed on the back, probably partly erroneously, “Turks. Village of Scutari.”  Later notes by the artist suggest that the scene may be in or near Ioannina.

Page’s style went through two distinct stages.  This painting represents Page's later, more picturesque, style.  Previously, during the 1810s and early/mid 1820s, Page focused mainly on costume studies.  During the late 1820s and  early 1830s, he mainly depicted graceful landscapes.  Here, he appears to have combined the two.