Page 7 - Orient Collection

Preface

This Collection contains images painted in relation to culture, the arts, political scenes of the pre/Islamic world like ancient
by European and American artists who freedoms, philosophy, religious beliefs, Egypt, and depictions of other religions.
traveled to North Africa, the Middle the healing arts, and government.
East and India in the 19th century. Orientalist paintings fill me with admiration,
Known as “Orientalists,” the world they The masterpieces that comprise this the sense of unknown, a mysterious
portrayed was one of deserts, camels, Collection will show that individual cryptic quality of looking at something
and sandstones cities. The images painters in the 19th century who traveling entirely foreign, and seduce me just as it
contained within have been compiled alone, accompanying their political did to so many during the 19th century.
to fulfill two main purposes: to show leaders, or traveled with fellow artists Orientalist paintings rejuvenated my
the immense talent of the artists and somewhere in the Orient. They would interest in art history, and no other genre
the great beauty and wonder of the arrive upon a street or a landscape, and of art was ever so strong a call to make
places they painted. In some cases the despite the political machinery in motion me refuse to surrender to complacency
artists were so amazed by what they all around, they would put paintbrush to than this Orientalist paintings produced
saw that they abandoned virtually all canvas and create something that showed by European and American painters who
other subject matters for the remainder how much admiration and simple human worked in the Middle East in the 19th
of their careers. ‘’Orientalism’’ is a very fascination can exist between Orient and century, from Turkey, Syria, Lebanon,
weighty word. Its elusive, complex past, Occident, Christians and Muslims, Islam Palestine, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco,
when explored in detail, can reveal and the west. Harmful events today in this Persia, and India. All these countries are as
to a reader a complicated history of world have no right to distort the past. diverse from one another in culture and
East and West. What is ‘’Oriental’’ or customs as any country could be. However,
‘’Occidental’’, where the boundaries lay, In browsing through this Collection, we will one of the things they do have in common
and what the actual differences are, has see the great diversity in subject matter from is the uniformity of appeal that may hold
changed repeatedly up to the present historical periods and geographical regions. for the outsider. It was this appeal of the
day. Throughout history, definitions A vast majority of the paintings depict the Orient, exotic destination, this aesthetic
have been drawn between East and West Arab Muslim world of the 19th century, and that attracted so many painters.