The secular wall-paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries in the mansions of Macedonia reflect the prosperity of a social class of bourgeois merchants who had come into contact with the central European countries, to which they travelled for commercial purposes.
The artistic style of these paintings is composed of a variety of elements, the predominant being central European baroque. They usually adorned the main reception rooms ('kalos ondas' and 'doxatos') of the house with landscapes, hunting scenes, garlands, flowers, and very often with views of cities, especially Constantinople, copied from Western engravings.
This artistic expression was assimilated by Ottoman society, as can be seen from the decoration of Turkish houses and public buildings, and even of mosques.
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