In the current lot, renowned Turkish photographer Nazif Topçuoglu stages a scene that attempts to deconstruct Orientalist themes of allure and cunning from the perspective of the Western male, with women taking on typically male roles as is often the case in the artist’s work. In the present image, elements such as a dramatic play of light and traditional Oriental textiles set the stage for a poetic, classical narrative that loosely borrows from Carravagio’s St. Francis in Ecstasy.This is an intimate picture where the spiritual blends with the sensual, engaging the viewer with its captivating subject and compelling narrative.