Chamber of a Minister of the Ottoman Empire

Moreau primarily devoted his career to making prints, first after works by other artists, then eventually after his own drawings, as well as designs for book illustrations. He achieved official success by 1770, when he was named "dessinateur des menus plaisirs du roi" (designer of the king's entertainments) to Louis XV. In this capacity, and later as "dessinateur et graveur de cabinet du roi" (draftsman and engraver to the king) to Louis XVI, Moreau captured in drawings and prints the lavish court events that characterize the waning years of the ancien regime.
This drawing was Moreau's preparatory designs for illustrations to Ignace Mouradja d'Ohsson's (1740-1807) "Tableau général de l'empire Othoman" (Portrait of the Ottoman Empire). The first two volumes appeared in 1787 and 1789, while the French Revolution delayed the publication of the third until 1824. The three published volumes, which remain a major resource in the field of Ottoman and Turkish studies, contain 237 engraved illustrations, which document the events and people described in the text.
D'Ohsson was born Muradca Tosunyan in Istanbul to parents of Armenian descent. In 1787 he changed his name to d'Ohsson, the Franco-Swedish equivalent of his Turko-Armenian surname. D'Ohsson followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a translator to the Swedish embassy in Istanbul. His position and knowledge of the Arabic and Turkish languages allowed him access to the Ottoman court, normally inaccessible to Europeans. Through this experience d'Ohsson was inspired to produce his "Tableau général de l'empire Othoman." a detailed literary and visual history of the Ottoman empire that respected and celebrated its traditions and culture. D'Ohsson's role as interpreter of the Ottoman empire is complex: as an associate of the Swedish embassy he was exempt from certain Ottoman taxes and other legal restrictions, which allowed him to obtain a higher economic and social status. His project catered to a Western audience by engaging European artists, using French for the text, and publishing in Paris under his Westernized name, which he notably adopted the year the first volume appeared.
The present drawing is dated 1788, when Moreau's talents had reached full maturity and his experience depicting interior scenes with large numbers of figures had been well developed. For such a precise drawing, there is very little underdrawing, although the pinpricks and ruled lines reveal Moreau's mastery of drafting tools. Moreau's drawing was engraved by Georges Malbeste for a plate in volume 1 depicting the rooms of a Minister of the Gate (Appartement d'un Ministre de la Porte, pl. 62). Auguste Boppe argued that many of the drawings in the "Tableau général" were based on designs by indigenous artists (see Boppe 1911, p. 153).[1] D'Ohsson's correspondence indicates that works by an Ottoman Greek artist, Kapidagli Konstantin (active 1789-1806) and his shop were the source of many of the compositions replicated by French artists for the publication.
[1] Auguste Boppe, Les peintres du Bosphore au dix-huitieme siecle, Paris, 1911.