Shaping the Perception of Otherness. Performing the Ottoman in Vienna before 1800

Representations of the Ottoman occur frequently throughout European visual culture during the early modern period. Stereotypes, repeated motifs and battle scenes abound across painting, sculpture and the decorative arts. Harder to decipher, however, is how portrayals of Ottomans were propagated within structures of performance culture. In what ways did the ephemeral nature of theater and festival practices influence how portrayals were manifested? What made certain representations of Ottomans unique to Viennese performance practices? Beginning around the time of the first Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1529 and culminating around 1800, the depiction of the Ottoman onstage and in festival culture gradually shifted from the ›terrible Turk‹ stereotype to a lighthearted face of rococo turquerie. This path, however, was not so straightforward and an oscillation between curiosity and fear can be read constantly between the lines. Examining representations of otherness through the lens of performance culture allows for a more nuanced and complex discussion since the very nature of performance forces us to consider questions of agency, identity, movement and materiality.

Alexander McCargar is a scenographer and art historian. He earned his MFA in Stage Design from the Yale School of Drama and previously received degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts with a minor in Art History from Rhode Island School of Design.