Although a relationship of many centuries had existed between the Ottomans and the West through wars or trade going back to the middle ages, Westernisation of Ottoman taste came to the empire much later.
The zenith of the Ottoman Empire, which occurred in the 16th century, did not last long. The weaknesses that occurred in the administrative system, together with erosion of the military and financial bodies, resulted in the empire's loss of territories from the late 17th century. Attempts were made at regaining the empire's once mighty power seen in the importation of measures from the West's administrative and technical infrastructure, a borrowing that was also reflected in Ottoman society and art. Closer cultural and diplomatic relations established with the West, reinforced with the perception of the Ottoman Empire as a market, led to new developments in both the social structure of the society and its art. Thus, the introduction of Western elements into the Ottoman artistic repertoire in the 18th and 19th centuries is known as the Westernisation period.