LACHAISE. Costumes de l'Empire turc, avec des notes explicatives; Vues de Constantinople, des Dardanelles et de Smyrne, prises en 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820, Paris, Pélicier, Janet et Cotelle, MDCCCXXI [=1821].
Not much is known about Lachaise, the creator of the present album of costumes and human types of the Ottoman empire, except that he studied architecture and that he planned to travel to Egypt when, in 1817, Count de Forbin, director general of the museums of France asked him to accompany him to a journey to the East alongside with other French art connoisseurs. The party included Prevost, a painter who specialized in panoramic views, Huyot, teacher of Art History, and others. They sailed out from Toulon and visited Athens and Milos island before travelling on to Asia Minor by way of Chios, Lesbos and finally Izmir. After touring Istanbul, they travelled to Alexandria and sailed up the Nile to Cairo, Nubia and the waterfalls. Their voyage ended in 1820.
The plates of the Album show officials of the Ottoman empire, members of various professions and itinerant traders, views of cities, and human figures in scenes of everyday life. They are accompanied by explanatory texts. Some of the figures are left in black and white others are coloured over; all of them are placed in space somewhat awkwardly, without a background, while the details of the costumes are also absent. Most of the drawings were lithographed by F. Lecomte and C. Fraconnier and some of them by Lachaise himself.
Written by Ioli Vingopoulou
