National Gallery, London: Cross-cultural encounters: Europe and the Islamic world

Gentile Bellini, Portrait of Mehmet II, 1480, National Gallery, London.

What can paintings, such as Crivelli’s 'Annunciation with Saint Emidius' and Holbein’s 'The Ambassadors', tell us about the presence and reception of Islamic art and people in Europe?

From highly prized Persian carpets and luxury textiles to attempts at Arabic script, depictions of Islamic artefacts abound in European art in the National Gallery’s collection and beyond.

This four-week course looks at European imagery of Islamic objects alongside actual examples of these precious items and consider their impact on European decorative arts. It will examine the development of visual representations of people from the Islamic world and reflect on the move from generic stereotyping towards greater accuracy.

For more information, see the Events tab on the National Gallery’s website