The exhibition will take place at Istanbul Modern, the city's first private museum dedicated to modern and contemporary art, which was created in 2004 to support various forms of art by displaying important works to the public. The museum hosts both a permanent and various temporary exhibitions, and it gives space to different artists and to all forms of art: in the museum, indeed, visitors can find paintings, pictures, sculptures, as well as videos and other works realised with innovative tools.



The museum is divided into two main areas: in the first one the permanent exhibition is held, which is always worth a visit. The themes and the organization of the works, indeed, change annually, to permit visitors to try a new path every time they enter the museum. The second area of the museum is where temporary exhibitions take place: every year the museum hosts around 3 or 4 exhibitions, including retrospectives, Turkish modern art and international contemporary art works.

The exhibition Pureblood Reflections is one of the first temporary events hosted in the museum in 2009. It is a particular exhibition, and it is based on the works realised by the photographer Peter M'ller Peter that are dedicated to the Yeguada de la Cartuja horses, a particularly well-known breed which was present at the courts of Europe ever since the 12th century. This type of horse, also known as Cartujano, is considered as the purest strain of the Andalusan breed, and is characterised by beautiful proportions, graceful movements, a noble and docile nature and energy. These horses are usually grey (but some of them are black or chestnut), they have small ears and a broad forehead. It is probably thanks to their noble proportions, and to their presence at the main European courts, that several artists have decided to portray them in their works. An evidence of this is given by the exhibition held at the Istanbul museum of modern and contemporary art.

The work realised by Peter M'ller Peter is particularly interesting, because with his works he portrays this breed in a new way, but also because the artist shows how it is possible to mix two different kinds of artistic expressions: painting and photography. M'ller, indeed, took some photographs of those horses, and then he joined them to some famous paintings realised by important artists, such as Rubens, Vel?zquez, Goya, Macke and Carpaccio, who portrayed horses of to the same breed. In this way we can find images of horses watching frescoes with interested and attentive eyes, or other horses taking their place inside a painting, creating in this way an odd optical illusion.

The exhibition includes 40 pictures and 6 installations, through which the artist shows how it is possible, starting from 2 different kinds of art, to create a third, brand-new form of art.

If you want to visit a particular museum and exhibition, spend some days in a cheap hotel in Istanbul and visit the Istanbul Modern Museum.

Date: 4th February -26th April 2009

Location: Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey