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Rare prints from the 19th century by ‘orientalist’ photographer Pascal Sébah (1823-1886, Armenian-Syrian), founder of a legendary photography studio in the Pera neighbood of Constantinople, will be exhibited in dialogue with the contemporary images of German photographer Patrick Bienert (1980, German), from his Armenia series produced for Louis Vuitton as part of its Fashion Eye collection of photo books.

Sébah's career coincided with the growing interest of Europeans in the "Orient", exotic and fascinating. Constantinopole photographers, such as the Abdullah Brothers and then Sébah, sold images of the ancient ruins of the surrounding area, portraits and local people in traditional costumes, to the city's tourists. Sébah became known for his well-organized compositions, careful lighting, great attention to detail and the excellent quality of printing by his technician, A. Laroche. Sébah worked in collaboration with the painter Osman Hamdi Bey (1842-1910). He photographed models dressed in rich costumes and the painter then used the photographs as the basis for his famous orientalist oil paintings. Sébah presented the album Popular Costumes of Turkey at the Vienna Universal Exhibition of 1873, which earned him a gold medal awarded by the organizers. That same year, Sébah opened a branch in Egypt.