In this section of the 15-foot-long woodcut, Turkish sultan Suleyman is shown on parade in his country's capital. The woodcut by Flemish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst is one of the earliest documentations of Muslim life by a European artist.

Woodcut offers panoramic view
of 16th-century Muslim life

A 15-foot long woodcut panorama that is one of the earliest visual documentations of Muslim life by a European artist will be displayed at the Yale University Art Gallery through Wednesday, Feb. 6. The woodcut, titled "Moeurs et Fachons des Turcs" ("Manners and Customs of the Turks") by Flemish artist Pieter Coecke van Aelst (1502-1555), records a journey the artist took through the Balkans to Constantinople in 1533. It is on view on the fourth floor of the gallery. "This eyewitness report from four-and-a-half centuries ago is relevant to our reawakened interest in the Muslim world today," says Suzanne Boorsch, curator of prints, drawings and photographs. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to exhibit this extraordinary work, which has not been on public view at the art gallery for nearly two decades." At the time of Coecke's journey, the Turkish sultan Suleyman was at war with western Europe, yet Coecke records the impressions of his journey with remarkable evenhandedness, Boorsch says. He describes a Turkish encampment, the dealings of soldiers with local peasants, soldiers at prayer, a Muslim cemetery and funeral, a circumcision festival and the sultan himself on parade in his capital. "For most Europeans at this time, Islam seemed a fearsome threat," says Christopher Wood, professor of the history of art. "Pieter Coecke's woodcuts represent the Turks not as barbarians but as a rival civilization, perhaps even as worthy inheritors of the classical tradition." "Manners and Customs of the Turks" is displayed adjacent to the exhibition "Holland of the Imagination: Dutch Prints and Drawings of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries," which is on view through Feb. 3. T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S Yale and Unions agree to seek more effective negotiations process Campus events honor legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Center receives over $12 million in grants for research on AIDS IN FOCUS: Electrical Engineering 'Painted Ladies' of king's court featured in exhibition MEDICAL SCHOOL NEWS Carolyn Mazure named associate dean for faculty affairs Research reveals that quitting smoking impairs some cognitive . . . Tamborlane to head national project on juvenile diabetes Study: More people now getting treated for depression Medical students donating proceeds from show . . . Brain abscess case linked to tongue piercing 'Art for All Seasons' showcases works by Asian artists Works depict the human form, both draped and undraped 'A Streetcar Named Desire' comes to the Yale stage Petrarch's poetry will be highlighted in a campus talk . . . Symposium to examine roots of modern visual culture Woodcut offers panoramic view of 16th-century Muslim life OBITUARIES English Professor Louis Martz: 'One of Yale's great teachers' George Goold: Chief editor of Loeb Classical Library series Dr. Ruth Whittemore: Noted pediatric cardiologist Faith Hubley: Academy Award-winning animator and filmmaker Memorial service for Naomi Schor Funny things will happen during a Roman-style comedy week Standing, Special and Appointments Committees Yale seeks nominees for 2001 Seton Elm-Ivy Awards Fellowships for foreign study and travel offered by YCIAS Yale Books in Brief Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News|Bulletin Board Yale Scoreboard|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs Home|News Releases| E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page