Travelling | Visiting and “revisiting” the Orient | Artists travelling in the “Orient”

Most European travellers to the “Orient” – artists foremost among them – did not see and record things the way they were but the way they saw them.

Artists travelling to the Arab and Ottoman world went there in search of light, colour and picturesque, exotic scenes. Many, having read the fanciful accounts of their contemporaries’ travels then tried to recreate their Orientalist fantasies, by now firmly embedded in the European imagination, in images. The foremost aim of many artists was to cater for the growing and profitable market created by a thirst for depictions of a distant, alluring world that promised an escape from the restrictions of conventional life in Europe; a world of romance, sensual allure and danger. Even though some artists spent many years in the Ottoman Empire and North Africa, their exposure to the realities of local life, and indeed their interest in it, often remained extremely limited; only a few endeavoured to relay an accurate, sympathetic image of the cultures among which they moved. Others, indeed, had never physically travelled to the region at all, but created their Orientalist scenes inspired exclusively by the works of others in an attempt to capitalise on the near-insatiable European appetite for the “exotic”. Their images joined the many others that did much to distort Europeans’ ideas about the East.

Working NumberNameHolding MuseumDateMaterialsCurator Justification
SP 025Sorolla in TetouanSorolla MuseumFebruary 1919Cardboard; Gelatin DOPIn 1919, the Spanish Impressionist painter Joaquín Sorolla travelled to Tetouan in Morocco. Here, Sorolla’s family and friends appear with local people, including the “Moor Selam”. The artist’s daughter Helena wears local costume. On the family’s return, she set up a “Moorish” corner in their home.

SP 028Invitation from Egyptian Sultan Fuad I to Joaquín SorollaSorolla Museum05 November 1918Paper; inkMorocco and Algeria offered artists inspiration, too. The Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla (1863–1923) travelled and worked there extensively. His works became much sought after, as shown by this royal invitation to Cairo by the King of Egypt. Sadly, this journey did not materialise, but Sorolla did go to Morocco in 1919.

TR2 031View of IstanbulPera MuseumSecond half of the 19th centuryOil on canvasThe French artist Félix Ziem (1821–1911) was famous for his dreamy Eastern scenes and visions of the Orient evoking the atmosphere of The Arabian Nights. His works, like this one focusing on Constantinople, were popular among contemporary customers.

TR2 032The Grand BazaarPera MuseumSecond half of the 19th centuryOil on canvasCount Amadeo Preziosi (1816–82), a long-time resident of Constantinople, was famous for his watercolours and prints that eternalised the city in genre scenes and were attractive to both the local expatriate community and visiting tourists.

TR2 033Caiques and Sailboats at the BosporusPera MuseumSecond half of the 19th centuryOil on canvasIt is likely that Félix Ziem completed this painting on his return to France, using sketches he had made in Constantinople. The atmosphere, with the city indicated with only a few mosque silhouettes in the background, is dreamy and evocative.

TR2 034View of IstanbulPera MuseumSecond half of the 19th centuryOil on canvasThe French artist Félix Ziem (1821–1911) was famous for his dreamy Eastern scenes and visions of the Orient evoking the atmosphere of The Arabian Nights. His works, like this one focusing on Constantinople, were popular among contemporary customers.

TR2 035Portrait of a lady of the court playing the tambourinePera Museum1870–1875Oil on canvasThis painting is one of the four half-length portraits by the artist painted in 1874-1875 depicting young woman of the ottoman Court. Her dress has been emphasized by means of a neutral background. She is wearing a “dört etek” robe. On her head she wears a cap of blue fabric, decorated with small White flowers.

DZ 107The Caliphs' tombs in CairoMusée National des Beaux-Arts1871Oil on wood Artists were drawn to North Africa in particular because of its reputation for exceptional light, colour and exotic vistas. Many – like the French artist Eugène Fromentin (1820–76) – were fascinated by the ancient sites there, and depicted them in works that were designed not merely to show the “reality”, but also to evoke the “magical” atmosphere.

DZ 095The Jewish weddingMusée National des Beaux-ArtsSecond half of the 19th century Oil on canvas The French Orientalist paint Alfred Dehodencq (1822–82) was the first foreign artist to live in Morocco long-term. Between 1855 and 1870, he specialised in Orientalist scenes depicting aspects of life in the North African country. Here, he captures a wedding in the Jewish community in Tangiers.

IT2 011The Celebration of the Prophet Muhammad in TangierNational Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)1879Oil on canvasDue to the good relations between the young Moroccan Sultan Mulay Hasan I and Italy, many Italian artists visited the country. Among them was Stefano Ussi (1822–1901), who arriving in Morocco in 1875, became particularly well known. Based on countless sketches made during his visit, he later created impressive, large-scale compositions.

DZ 096Souvenir of AlgeriaMusée National des Beaux-Arts19th cenutry (c. 1858)Oil on canvas The French artist Eugène Fromentin was one of the earliest artists to depict Algerian scenes. This evocative view of the ancient Roman aqueduct in the city of Cherchell was shown at the Paris Salon of 1859.

DZ 106The Great Mosque of AlgiersMusée National des Beaux-Arts1870Oil on canvas The Spanish painter Joseph Sintès (1829–1913) spent most his life in Algeria and specialised in painting its vistas and monuments. This image shows the Ottoman Great Mosque in Algiers, an important monument in Algerian history.

DZ 103The AdmiraltyMusée National des Beaux-Arts1865Oil on a wooden panelThis painting by Joseph Sintès shows the Ottoman Admiralty building, constructed under the auspices of the great Ottoman Admiral Khayr al-Din (Khaireddine). Sintès, who lived in Algeria for most of his life, specialised in painting scenes that would appeal to both the local elite and expatriate customers.

DZ 104Algiers, site of the LycéeMusée National des Beaux-Arts1865AquarelleThis painting by Algerian resident Joseph Sintès shows one of the first French schools in Algeria, built on the site of a Roman columbarium. Scenes like these were popular with both the local elite and expatriate residents.

DZ 120The Empress' boulevardMusée National des Beaux-ArtsLate 19th century Oil on a wooden panelThis painting by Joseph Sintès depicts the Boulevard de l’Impératrice, a street built by the French Architect Frédéric Chassériau as a symbol of European modernisation of Algiers. The Algerians, sitting on the ground in traditional costumes, seem to quietly reassert their culture regardless.

IT2 008The Prayer in the DesertNational Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)1876Oil on canvasApart from realistic vistas, Orientalist artists were fascinated by the unfamiliar, colourful and bold characters they encountered during their travels. Here, the Italian artist Stefano Ussi captures the serenity of Muslim prayer, a scene based on drawings made while in Egypt.

IT2 013In the DesertNational Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)1889Oil on canvasThe Italian painter Cesare Biseo (1844–1909) travelled to Constantinople, Egypt and Morocco. A respected artist of evocative Orientalist themes, he was invited to decorate the Egyptian Viceroy’s palace in Alexandria.

IT2 009Arabian FantasyNational Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)1911Oil on canvasAlthough entitled Arabian Fantasy, this scene by the Italian artist Stefano Ussi is based on a real-life event – the “Lab-el-baroud” (Game of Gunpowder), played in the dust, and performed by Moroccan horsemen in honour of the Italian delegation with whom the painter was travelling at the time. In fact, the episode is masterfully recounted in Morocco: Its People and Places by Edmondo De Amicis.

DZ 090Mountain people from MostaganemMusée National des Beaux-Arts1846Graphite with chalk Théodore Chassériau travelled widely during his stay in Algeria in 1846. After exploring the country’s western region, he completed this study of a local mountain dweller.

DZ 102Falcon chaseMusée National des Beaux-Arts1863Watercolour French artist Eugène Fromentin’s work was also focused on Algeria. This sketch was a preparatory study for a large painting later shown at the Paris Salon of 1863. Artists often made use of drawings and sketches created during their travels to produce grand compositions when back home.

RS 002Woman In Oriental DressThe National Museummid-1880sOil on panelLocal women and their lives fascinated European painters. This painting was completed in the early 1880s by Serbian painter Pavle “Paja” Jovanović during one of his frequent trips and sojourns in the Balkans. The precision of the draughtsmanship and fresh colours ranks this work among his most successful from the period.

DZ 064North African woman washingMusée Public National des Antiquités1832The French Arabist, philologist and artist Louis-Adrien Berbrugger (1801–69) arrived in Algeria in 1835. Unusually for the time, Berbrugger settled in Algeria and married a Muslim woman, and then empathetically studied the culture around him.

DZ 105Woman taking an afternoon napMusée National des Beaux-Artsc. 1870AquarelleEuropean paintings of “Oriental” women in the harem were closer to the fantasies of Europeans than to the reality of life experienced by North African women. This is because virtually no European artist ever entered an “Oriental” harem.

SP 037Interior of a Moorish Palace, AlgiersNational Museum of Romanticism1844Paper; ink; steel engraving“Oriental” women and their lives fascinated European painters. This scene, within a Moorish palace in Algiers, seems to depict the family’s private quarters or even the harem, both areas to which most outsiders never gained access. Nevertheless, engravings like this one were often used by Orientalist artists as the basis for their paintings.

IT2 006The Virgin at the NileNational Gallery of Modern Art (GNAM)1865Oil on canvasThe Italian painter Federico Faruffini (1831–69) was among the artists who tried to exploit the commercial potential of Orientalism with fantastic and alluring scenes, pandering to contemporary European tastes, without having had any direct experience of the East.