Orientalism

Orientalism was based around the tendency to describe and portray the Near and Middle East in a
way to appeal to the fantasies, tastes, assumptions, politics and prejudices of the West and the
Western Audience that would be viewing the pieces.

Key Themes
• Empire
• Fantasy
• Cruelty
• Opulence
• eroticism
• West depiction of the East
• Prejudice
• Odalisque

Key Points

• Created by the British and French Imperial expansion that happened during the 19th century
– this provided artists with more information about the Near and Middle East.
• The paintings produced were considering Orientalist due to the appearance the accurately
depicted landscape, architecture, and the customs of the new region
• In reality Orientalist paintings were motivated by assumptions which didn't come from
observation but from preconceptions or prejudice.
• Accurate detail was used to pander to the imagination of Western Audiences covering up the
truth and allowing the continued depiction in art of the Orient being backwards and
primitive.
• Many Orientalist paintings also depicted arguments about Western Morality, while backing
up Imperialism as a civilizing process.
• Works also depicted the supposed opulence and extravagance of the Orient, including
harems and slave markets.
• The Orient was deemed to be the source of pleasure or cruelty, and occasionally both at
once, it could be luxurious or barbaric, in effect the home of hot blooded passion – as long
as it was never depicted as being rational like the West.
• Near East was believed to have not changed since the times of the Old Testament, as thus
Biblical paintings often made use of information about the culture, architecture and
jewellery to create that seemed to be authentic images of Biblical history.
• Many Orientalist paintings also made use of the Odalisque, or the Female Slave.
Examples of art work

The Grand Odalisque, Painted 1819 Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres