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Edmond
Duthoit: Bank
of Cyprus (London) Ltd proudly presented 140 sketches and watercolours
of Cyprus at an Exhibition opening at the Hellenic Centre on 4th November
1999.
In
the middle of the nineteenth century and during an escalating antagonism
between the Great European powers in gaining influence over the Ottoman
Empire, France organised a number of archaeological missions to the
Middle East. Their aim was not only to excavate and amass antiquities
but also to study and collect information that would help France to
affirm her position in those countries.
One such mission (in 1862) was headed by the well known scholar of
Phoenician Art, Marquis de Vogue and included Cyprus in its itinerary.
A young architect and draughtsman from Amiens, Edmond
Duthoit was one of the participants.
He was charged with the task of exploring the island, conducting excavations
and collecting antiquities. With these directives, Duthoit
arrived in Cyprus on February 1862 and remained on the island till the
end of May. He returned in May 1865 and stayed till August of the same
year, most probably being the visitor who stayed the longest in Cyprus
during that period. This enabled him to get to know the island and its
people more than anyone else. In a series of letters from Cyprus to
his mother in France, Duthoit
describes his impressions and experiences, the people, the customs and
everyday life in this God forsaken part of the Ottoman Empire.
However,
more interestingly and valuable are his
drawings of Cyprus. Approximately one hundred and fifty sketches
in pencil, pen and ink and watercolour unfold a panorama of the island
which includes landscapes, views of villages, towns, neighbourhoods,
ancient monuments. Gothic and Byzantine churches, mosques, costumes
and antiquities. These works of art constitute the first Orientalist
and ethnographic representations of Cyprus.
At the same time, they reflect the artist's belief that he was travelling
'on the most beautiful path in the world'. It was on this path that
Duthoit came across and decided
to take possession of the vase of Amathus, which lay on top of the hill,
in front of the ruins of the ancient temple of Aphrodite. He studied
the way it should be removed and organised its transport to France.
The vase soon found its place in the Louvre where it still remains,
presently exhibited in Room 21 (A.D. 1999).
Dr Rita C. Severis,
who was studying the life and work of Edmond Duthoit, brought to life
the artist's sketches, long forgotten in the reserves of the Museum
of Picardie in Amiens, where they had been deposited by his descendants,
in a file marked "Turkey and Syria" and never been seen or
studied since.
Within the celebrations of its one hundred years, Bank
of Cyprus in collaboration with the Museum of Picardie, presented
for the first time these sketches to the public. The exhibition opened
on 4th November 1999 at the Hellenic Centre and was accompanied by a
publication on the life and works of Edmond Duthoit. The book included
all available drawings of Cyprus of 1862 and 1865 and, whenever possible,
contemporary photographs of the subjects portrayed. A seminar followed
with speakers from France & Cyprus.The works of art belong to the
Picardie Museum in France.
Along the Most Beautiful Path in the World. Edmond Duthoit and Cyprus. Texts by Dr Rita K. Severis, Dr Lucie Bonato, Anne Gautier, Edited by Dr Rita Severis, Dr Lucie Bonato, Designed by George Simonis, Bilingual (Greek/English) edition, Bank of Cyprus Group. 1999 / 31 x 23 cm / 272 pp., 154 drawings and photographs. ISBN:9963-42-074-5. List Price: CYP30.00 (Conversion of currency on this site).
