Orientalism: The Allure of North Africa and the Near East – Masterworks from the Dahesh Museum of Art explores how artists from both Europe and America represented the cultures and peoples of Turkey, the Middle East, and North Africa– both real and imagined – during the 19th century.
The Orient enchanted Romantic artists who wanted to escape Europe’s urban rigors, Realists who sought to record the “authentic” Orient, and others simply in search of fresh subject matter to satisfy the demands of a changing Western art market. Some traveled to the region as part of official government missions, others accompanied wealthy patrons, or were hired by the local elites and royalty.
Drawn from the Dahesh Museum of Art and a private collection, Orientalism: The Allure of North Africa and the Near East – Masterworks from the Dahesh Museum of Art features over 50 exceptional paintings, sculptures, and lavishly illustrated books by artists from Europe and America, such Frederick Arthur Bridgman, Hermann-David-Salomon Corrodi, Rudolf Ernst, Ludwig Deutsch, Joseph Farquharson, Charles-Théodore Frère, Owen Jones, Frederic Lord Leighton, Edwin Longsden Long, and Émile Prisse d’Avennes.
The exhibition explores the artistic legacy of Western encounters with the Orient in the 19th century through a variety of themes ranging from the West’s fascination with Ancient Egypt, Medieval Islamic architecture and design, and the exploration of biblical history, to the exotic genre and harem scenes. The stories unfolded by the artists’ travels reveal the cross-cultural exchanges that continue to engage us two centuries later.