1) Orientalism began in the 15th century but became popular in 19th century France, depicting scenes from Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa under colonial rule. 2) Artists like Eugene Delacroix and Jean-Leon Gerome traveled to the region and painted contemporary life, with some works depicting fantasy scenes. 3) Edward Said criticized orientalism for promoting stereotypes that justified western imperialism, though some scholars note the demand for such works.

1. Orientalism
First created 18 Apr 2011. Version 1.0 - 6 Mar 2019. Daperro. London.
An Eurocentric Fantasy
The Massage. 1883. Bernard Debat-Ponsan

2. The interest in the Turkish and Arabic world in painting can traced back to about 15C, but it was in the
19C France, when it became a movement and reached its peak of popularity.
Above are two study sketches by Gentile Bellini, a Venetian artist, when he visited Istanbul in late 15C.
Study sketches, 1479-81 – Gentile Bellini (Venetian).

3. French Orientalism
In the 18C, stimulated by Romanticism's
taste for the exceptional and the exotic,
painters began to travel to Turkey, the Middle
East and to North Africa. Orientalist painters
began to depict contemporary life under the
colonial and sultanic rules in these Islamic
countries.
The movement was particular popular in
France. Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863) was
one of the first orientalist and Jean-Leon
Gerome (1824-1904) was one of the last.
Jean Leon Gerome
Eugene Delacroix

4. Levett & Giavani, 1740 - Liotard (Swiss).
It was popular for European to dress up in Turkish costumes like this Swiss couple.

5. Grand Odalisque, 1814 – Ingres (French)
Odalisque is a female slave or concubine especially one in the seraglio of the Sultan of Turkey.

6. Turkish Bath, 1859 – Ingres (French)
An opportunity for the artist to depict erotic female nudes and let their fantasy run wild.

7. A popular theme with the French was the glory of Napoleon in the Middle East.
Napoleon Pardening. 1808 – Guerin (French)

8. Carpet. 1843 – Muller, (German)

9. Egypt Expedition. 1832 – Cogniet, (French)

10. Palace of the Queen of the Night. 1816 – Schinkel, (German)
Orientalist influence on opera sets. The opera Aida written by Verdi was first perform in 1871 in Cairo.

11. The Chios Massacre refers to the
slaughter of tens of thousands of
Christian Greeks on the island of
Chios by Ottoman troop, during
the Greek War of Independence in
1822.
Chios Massacre. 1822 – Delacroix, (French)

12. Women of Algiers. 1834 – Delacroix (French)

13. Jewish Wedding in Morocco 1839 – Delacroix (French)

14. Death of Sardanapalus, 1827 – Delacroix (French)

15. Church of Holy Sepulchre. 1840 – Roberts (British)

16. Oriental Love Letter. 1824 – Pickersgill (British).

17. Bagnante. 1844 – Hayez (Italian).

18. Afternoon Prayer. 1857 – Lewis (British).
The British Orientalist paintings was
accepted its own days as a peculiarly
truthful form of art, as it disavowed
flagrant fantasy differed from some of
the well-known examples of the French
variety.
One of the best-known British orientalist
painters was John Frederick Lewis, who
lived in Cairo for nine years.

19. “Being an English gentleman,
however, Lewis could not simply
follow the French tradition of
eroticizing these women because
the conservative Victorian public
would have rejected his paintings
as immoral. He paintings sold
easily and for record sums. … The
challenge was to please the viewing
and buying public, while also
exploring and satisfying his own
interest in the exotic imagery of the
East.” Elizabeth Malcolm 1997.
Carpet Seller. 1860 – Lewis (British).

20. Lewis became a member of the Royal Academy in 1865.
Interior of School, 1864 – Lewis (British)

21. Algerian Woman. 1860 – Tissier (French)

22. Gt Pyramid. 1853 – Hunt (British)
William Holman Hunt was more often associated with the Pre-Raphaelite than the Orientalists..

23. William Hunt made four trips to the Holy Land and lived for a time.
Dome of the Rock. 1869 – Hunt (British)

24. Mufti Sheikh at-Mahdi, Cairo. c1872 – Hunt (British)

25. Bethlehem. 1892 – Hunt (British)

26. Beirut. 1861 – Lear (British)

27. Flight Out of Egypt. 1849 – Dadd (British)

28. Henriette Browne married to a diplomat and is a French Orientalist, who caused a sensation when she
exhibited this painting in Paris. It was considered the first eyewitness view of the inside of a harem. The
harem was a constant source of fascination in 19C European society.
In the painting it shows some women with veils. The interior was bare and most women were bored.
There was a child, probably with the visitor in the centre of the painting, was not at ease. On the far left
was a women smoking a cigarette.
Harem. 1860 – Henriette Browne (French)

29. Gerome was a skilful painter, who stick
to the naturalism of academic
traditions, instead of joining the
growing Impressionist.
Slave Market. 1866 – Gerome (French)
The French Society of Orientalist
Painters was founded in 1893 with
Jean-Lion Gerome as the honorary
president. The society provided a
focal point for their arts as a
movement.

30. Napoleon campaign in Egypt and Syria against the Ottoman Turk took place in 1790-1801.
Napoleon in Egypt & Syria. c1867 - Gerome

31. Snake Charmer. 1870 – Gerome (French)

32. Hookah Lighter c1898 – Gerome (French)

33. Leighton travelled widely. He
first travelled to Algeria at the
age of 27. Since then he
began a lifetime involvement
with the Middle East and
North Africa. His most well-
known painting is the Flaming
June.
Music Lesson. 1877 – Leighton (British).

34. Old Damarcus. 1873 – Leighton (British).

35. Arab d’El Aghouat 1860 – Cordier (French)
The interest in other people outside
of Europe was extended to sculpture.
One of three busts sculptures by
Charles Cordier (1827-1905)
depicting people of Africa.
By the end of the 19C, it was
becoming clear that there were two
styles of Orientalist – the realists who
carefully painted what they observed
and those who imagined scenes
without ever leaving the studio. The
British school of Orientalist in general
followed the realistic approach.

36. Sacred Ibises, Karnak. 1874 – Poynter (British)

37. Persian Woman. 1872 – Renoir (French)

38. Odalisque 1870 – Renoir (French)
Renoir was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism.

39. Arbitrary Execution. 1870 – Regnault (Franch).

40. Pilgrims to Mecca. 1882 – Melville (British).

41. White Slave 1888 – Lecomte du Nouy
Although, Orientalism provides the
opportunity to depict erotic naked women
to please the art lovers, but it is wrong to
see it was as the only subject matter of
Orientalism.

42. After the Bath. 1889 – Ernst (Austrian)
Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932) was an Austro-
French painter, printmaker and ceramics
painter, who is best known for his
orientalist motifs.

43. Arab University. 1890 – Deutsch (Austrian)

44. Caravan. c1898 – Girardet (French)

45. Gossip in the Harem (Detail) –
Giuseppe Aureli (Italian)

46. Lawrence 1919 – Augustus John (British)

47. Timeline

48. Edward Said (1935 – 2003) and Orientalism
Edward Said (pronounced as Sai-id) was a
professor at Columbia University. Said was
a Palestinian and an influential critic, known
best for his book Orientalism (1978). In his
book he concluded that Orientalist
scholarship in the West was and continues
to be inextricably tied to the imperialist
societies that produced it.
Said claimed a “subtle and persistent
Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo-Islamic
peoples and their culture”. He argued that a
long tradition of false and romanticized
images of Asia and the Middle East in
Western culture had served as an implicit
justification for Europe and the US’ colonial
and imperial ambition. Just as fiercely, he
denounced the practice of Arab elites who
internalized the US and British orientalists’
ideas of Arabic culture.

49. From our very brief gleam on the subject,
this is particularly true in French orientalist
paintings that many of the images are pure
imagination. The Turkish Bath by Ingres
and numerous auctions of naked female
slaves are examples of this.
In all popular culture, you can find
examples of ethnic stereotypes and cultural
caricatures. Whether these are by
conspiratorial designs are difficult to say.
Example of this are the English is
hypocrite, the Irish is stupid, the Jew is
misery, the Chinese is inscrutable, the
Latino is hot blooded etc. However,
whenever there is a demands for certain
types of paintings and images, there will be
willing painters to supply. After all they
have to earn a living too.
Lord of the Harem – Giraud (French)

50. Art as a commodity, fulfilling the market demand for paintings, as suggested by this 17C paintings.
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Available free for non-commercial and personal use.
The
End
Music – Grandpa by Ernesto Cortazar

52. English Painters

53. Ingres – Grand Odalisque
Whenever there is a demands for
certain types of paintings and
images, there will be willing painters
to supply. After all they have to
earn a living too.