A survey of Cyprus during the 18th, 19th, and the first half of the 20th century, as seen by artists and travellers. It is based on over 350 works pertaining to the two periods of the history of Cyprus - that of the Ottoman and of the British rule. A panorama of topography, monuments and ethnography is unfolded through the paintings and drawings of both amateur and professional artists. The political background and nationality of the artists and the influence of imperialism, Orientalism and colonialism are explored, and the book considers how attitudes changed during the period under discussion. The book also examines the relation of concepts such as gender and travel, transculturation, and the perceptions of the island, once a French and British colony, in relation to those of neighbouring countries such as Greece and Malta. The illustrations include works by French artists such as Louis Francois Cassas and Edmond Duthoit, German draughtsmen such as Ferdinand Bauer, Otto von Richter and Ohnefalsch Richter, Italian topographers such as Luigi Mayer and Hermann Solomon Corrodi, but mainly British painters including E.T.
Daniels, John Gardiner, Tristram Ellis, Donisthorpe Donne, Gladys Peto, W.L. Wyllie, Cecil Athur Hunt, Ethelbert White, David Bomberg, Rosemary Grimble and Ben Nicholson.