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Orientalism is the
imitation or representation of elements found in the Eastern world in art
history, literature, and cultural studies. The term Orientalism refers to the
work of Western artists who specialized in oriental themes that arose from
their travels in West Asia in the 19th century. During that period, artists and
scholars were described as Orientalists, particularly in France, where the art
critic Jules-Antoine Castagnary popularized the disparaging use of the term
"Orientalist". Despite the social disdain for representative artistic
styles, the Orientalist French Painters Society was founded in 1893 with
Jean-Léon Gérôme as honorary president.
Since the
publication of Edward Said's Orientalism in 1978, much
scholarly discourse has used the term "Orientalism" to refer to the
general Western treatment of Western attitudes toward Middle Eastern, Asian,
and North African societies. In Said's analysis, the West rendered these social
essences static and undeveloped, thus constructing a view of Eastern cultures
that can be studied, depicted and reproduced in the service of imperial power.
Said wrote that this conception implied the idea of a developed, rational,
flexible, and superior Western society.
These Orientalist
harem paintings also evoked a cultivated, indulgent existence that many
Westerners longed for as opposed to the popular "Roman" paintings of
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, such as The Tepidarium. Islamic art and
oriental motifs entered the decorative arts in many houses in England and
France, for example, mosaic art in the homes of Orientalists Frederic Leighton.
Expression of Orientalism
The appeal of
Orientalist imagery lies in painting and printmaking. Numerous 20th-century
artists, including Renoir (1841-1919), Matisse (1869-1954), Paul Clay (1879-1940),
Kandinsky (1866-1944), and Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980), experimented with
Orientalist themes.
Despite the
ephemeral changes in its expression, Orientalism still shows a general unity in
values, suggesting that Western society perceives the Eastern world in a
largely fixed light. Other theorists, such as Homi K. Bhabha, argued that the
people of the East have quietly changed the meaning of "Orientalism"
after a long period of struggle.
By examining the
several transformations of the theme of "Orientalism" in European art
in the 19th century, it is found that the connotation of
"Orientalism" has undergone essential shifts many times, which is not
stable but reveals the existence of the inner colonial system and inherent contradiction,
which is intuitively manifested as the adjustment of the "gaze"
relationship in visual art. However, these contradictions and migrations do not
originate from changes in the "East" itself but are caused by changes
in the power relations within the "Western" culture.
Changes Brought About by Orientalism
Among all the Orientalist paintings, the most influential works are the harem paintings. Delacroix, famous for his Liberty Leading the People, was also a famous Orientalist painter, and his The Death of Sardanapalus was so renowned that it eventually became the trumpet work of Romantic painting, overturning the neo-classical trend in French art and world painting. Now in the Louvre, The Death of Sardanapalus mixes eroticism, violence, mystery, and Oriental elements in a visually striking way that speaks for itself in the early 19th century.
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