Jewish woman in Cairo
This engraving depicting a Jewish woman in Cairo, Egypt, is from Cornelis de Bruyn’s travelogue, Reizen van Corn de Bruyn door de vermaardste deelen van Klein Asia, de eylanden Scio, Rhodus, Cyprus enz. mitsg. de voornaamste steden van Aegypten, Syrien en Palestina, first published in Delft, the Netherlands, in 1698. Before the advent of photography, it was not uncommon for artists to travel to what were considered exotic or picturesque locations in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, and to produce artworks upon their return home that helped satisfy the curiosity of the public about distant places and peoples.
Credits
Cornelis de Bruyn, from Voyage au Levant, c’est–à–dire, dans les principaux endroits de l’Asie Mineure, dans les isles de Chio, Rhodes, & Chypre, &c., de même que dans les plus consid érables villes d’Égypte, de Syrie, et de la Terre Sainte (Paris: Guillaume Cavelier, 714), p. 220. Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.
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Early Modern Literature and the Arts
Jewish literary creativity flourished in the early modern period, dominated by Hebrew poetry that blended religious themes with Renaissance forms.