H. Holland (1815) is one of the first travellers to visit Ali Pasha's territory. His chronicle includes a view of the city. Holland's text deals with the situation in the land and the people who gradually acquire national conscience. A few years later, Th.S. Hughes visited Epirus under Ali Pasha and published his chronicle (1820) in which he makes detailed and insightful observations on the city, the Pasha and social life in those years.

During the same period, following his stay in Ioannina, painter L. Dupré published a series of characteristic portraits of Ali Pasha and members of his entourage. The recent study on the French artist includes more views of Ioannina by painters of the time. Costumes and human types of Epirus are also seen in the works by Ch. Deval (1827) and in the splendid paintings by Estonian artist O.M. von Stackelberg (1828).

The plans and drawings of one of the major works of W. M. Leake (1825, photomechanical reprint 1967) show how meticulously and systematically the spaces and monuments were recorded by the passionate archaeologist and topographer.

Adam Friedel painted the portraits of politicians and military leaders of the Greek War of Independence, in most cases from life (Ad. Friedel, 1830 and Ad. Friedel, 1832). His works were highly successful and contributed to the Philhellenic Commitees' work of promoting the Greek cause in Europe. The portraits by J. Cartwright (1822) follow the contemporary artistic tendencies, and attempt to clearly convey each person's character and temperament.

A portrait of Ali Pasha is included in the multi-volume work of one of the major researchers of Northern Greece, French physician and consul in Ioannina F.Ch.H.L. Pouqueville (1826-27). When the diplomatic relationships between France and Ali Pasha became perturbed, Pouqueville's text, a libel against this ruler, defined Ali Pasha's image in the West, as the work of Pouqueville was very popular. Ali Pasha's tragic end became the subject of several works (R. Walsh / Th. Allom in 1836-38). Two rare watercolours included in an Album kept at the Gennadius Library depict  characteristic views of the city in a unique style (“Sketches of the Ionian Islands”, 1834). The view of the city continues to be a popular subject, as can be seen in the highly succesful work by Cr. Wordsworth, a richly illustrated historical narrative on Greece [here in the 1882 reedition (Chr. Wordsworth, 1882) and the 1841 edition (Chr. Wordsworth, 1841)] and in Ed. Lear's paintings (1851). The regions which formerly belonged to Ali Pasha's territories continued to attract travellers. In harmony with the aesthetics of the era, the impressive mountain landscape is rendered in calm tones, while human pictures add life to the views (G. Beresford, 1855). The lake and its surroundings constituted a stereotype of the city's beauty, even in the era of photography (E. Reisinger in 1923).

The prolific Irish scholar J.P. Mahaffy wrote an account of his tour of Greece (1890), illustrated with exquisite wood engravings. The plates were etched from pencil drawings, which in their turn were based on imaginary representations and photographs.

The Album of 1984 includes rare and very interesting wood engravings taken from the  pioneering weekly review  “The Illustrated London News” (1842-1885) and the similarly themed magazine “The Graphic” (1869-1885). The plates depict locations, people and events (political, social and military), from 1842 to 1885.

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou