In the nineteenth century, the West developed more efficient technology for communication, agriculture, transportation, and other aspects of culture. During this era, the West also developed a stronger curiosity for the functionalities and portrayals of Eastern culture. Despite their curiosity, Westerners still thought they were superior in their civilization and modernization. Because of this superior perspective, Westerner’s continued to colonize Eastern countries in an attempt to bring the East up to speed.
Orientalism fundamentally accentuates the differences between Eastern and Western culture. It attempts to portray Eastern culture as exotic, uncivilized, and even dangerous. “Orient” refers to the “East,” which encompasses the Middle East, North Africa, and West Asia. Orientalist images often discuss whose reality we are viewing–a culture untouched by Westernization. Orientalist art evolved in order to meet the demand for knowledgable illustrations of Eastern culture. Artists started using certain styles to depict the timeless reality of Eastern customs and rituals. Many artists participated in Orientalism with their portrait paintings of Eastern males. Westerners often saw Easterners as less than human, so Orientalist paintings are devoid of Western modernization, highlighting the Orients’ inability to move away from the past. While some Orientalist artists attempted to display a wild, foreign, and boorish society, others were fascinated by the East during their travels and also sought to capture and preserve its beauty.
Charles Bargue
A Bashi-Bazouk, 1875
Oil on canvas, 18 ¼” x 13 ⅛”
Not on view
This painting by Charles Bargue depicts a silk garmented mercenary from the Ottoman Empire sitting on a corner holding a narghile and weapons. Other foreign objects are cluttered around the figure. The figure’s face is hidden by its turned posture and the darkness of the setting. Bargue demonstrates the uncivilized and wild characteristics of the Bashi-Bazouk by illustrating him without one shoe, on a filthy stone, and with fruit peelings at his feet. These attributes communicate an uncomfortable carelessness, foreignness, and uncleanliness.
Leon Bonnat
An Arab Sheik, 1870
Oil on canvas, 25.5” x 28.5”
The Walters Art Museum
This painting depicts an old Arab wearing red, yellow, white, and brown colored robes and resting inside on a red rug with a weapon in hand. The figure’s face is concealed by the shadow of his hood and the darkness of the room. Bonnat created this painting after his travels with Jean-Léon Gérôme to Egypt and the Holy Land. He based his Orientalist paintings off of the sketches he made during his travels, so this artwork is rather an imaginative compilation of perceived Oriental realities. This painting is considered Orientalist artwork because it displays the potential danger and unknown of the East.
John Fredrick Lewis
The Pipe Bearer, 1856
Oil on panel, 30.5 x 43.2 cm
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery
This painting by Lewis portrays a lighter skinned man wearing a turban who is likely an Arab with a darker skinned Turkish troop. The contrast between the skin tones demonstrates how this painting may seek to elaborate on the exotic nature of the East. The intricate patterns and designs in the clothing and different held objects also contribute to the foreignness of Eastern culture. Lewis was fascinated by Eastern life and attempted to attentively display it with exactness.
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Pelt Merchant of Cairo, 1869
Oil on canvas, 61.5 x 50 cm
Not on view
This oil painting by Gérôme illustrates a barefoot merchant from Cairo sitting on a street corner with the beautiful pelt of a tiger draped over him. Other merchants and perhaps travelers are passing through the background of the painting. Because this painting by Gérôme shows a merchant resting in a filthy public place with the fur of a slain dangerous animal over him, it is an example of Orientalist art that displays the wild and exotic practice of the East. The exactitude of the painting suggests a timeless reality as well, which is evidenced by Gérôme's other paintings.
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Bashi-Bazouk, 1868-69
Oil on canvas, 34 ¾” x 26”
The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 804
This painting by Gérôme depicts a Turkish soldier of the Ottoman Empire in his bright silk tunic and exquisite head-piece. Turkish troops were feared for their ruthlessness. Westernization created lots of change in the Near East that Gérôme tried to avoid. It is evident in his work that he attempts to preserve the past by capturing an arrested, dignified figure in a costume. As an Orientalist painter, Gérôme strategizes by making his viewers believe that his works are simply reflections, in their exactness, of the preexisting Oriental reality.
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Bashi-Bazouk, 1868-69
Oil on canvas, 10 ¼” x 8 ½”
The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 804
This portrait painting by Gérôme captures another Turkish soldier of the Ottoman Empire in his green tunic and adorned with weapons and an intricate head-piece. The figure’s full expression is shadowed, characterizing the Turkish troop as unpredictable. Both of Gérôme’s Bashi-Bazouks were displayed together in the Metropolitan Museum. In contrast to Charles Bargue painting A Bashi-Bazouk, this piece further demonstrates how Gérôme communicated the exotic beauty of the Oriental reality to his viewers rather than accentuating the Turkish troops' barbaric tendencies.
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