Book excerpt: "A vibrant artistic milieu emerged in the late-nineteenth century Istanbul that was extremely heterogeneous, including Ottoman, Ottoman-Armenian, French, Italian, British, Polish and Ottoman-Greek artists. Roberts analyzes the ways artistic output intersected with the broader political agenda of a modernizing Ottoman state. She draws on extensive original research, bringing together sources in Turkey, England, France, Italy, Armenia, Poland and Denmark. Five chapters each address a particular issue related to transcultural exchange across the east-west divide that is focused on a particular case study of art, artistic patronage, and art exhibitions in nineteenth-century Istanbul"--Provided by publisher.