Academic literature on the topic 'Orientalism in art'

Thesis advisor: Jeffery Howe<br>The Orient has been a mythical, looming presence since the foundation of Islam in the 7th century. It has always been the “Other” that Edward Said wrote about in his 1979 book Orientalism. The gulf of misunderstanding between the myth and the reality of the Near East still exists today in the 21st century. Napoleon's invasion of Egypt in 1798 and the subsequent colonization of the Near East is perhaps the defining moment in the Western perception of the Near East. At the beginning of modern colonization, Napoleon and his companions arrived in the Near East convinced of their own superiority and authority; they were Orientalists. The supposed superiority of Europeans justified the colonization of Islamic lands. Said never specifically wrote about art; however, his theories on colonialism and Orientalism still apply. Linda Nochlin first made use of them in her article “The Imaginary Orient” from 1983. Artists such as Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Eugène Delacroix and Jean-Léon Gérôme demonstrate Said's idea of representing the Islamic “Other” as a culturally inferior and backward people, especially in their portrayal of women. The development of photography in the late 19th century added another dimension to this view of the Orient, with its seemingly objective viewpoint<br>Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2004<br>Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences<br>Discipline: Fine Arts<br>Discipline: College Honors Program

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Delaware, 2002.<br>Principal faculty advisor: Michael Leja, Dept. of Art History. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2009.<br>Title from PDF title page (viewed Jan. 21, 2010). Additional advisors: Cathleen Cummings, Heather McPherson, Mindy Nancarrow. Includes bibliographical references (p. 66-71).

The Neo-Orientalism of Matisse's The Blue Nude (Souvenir of Biskra), and Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, both of 1907, exists in the similarity of the extreme distortion of the female form and defines the different meanings attached to these "ugly" women relative to distinctive notions of erotic and exotic imagery. To understand Neo-Orientalism, that is, 19th century Orientalist concepts which were filtered through Primitivism in the 20th century, the racial, sexual and class antagonisms of the period, which not only influenced attitudes towards erotic and exotic imagery, but also defined and categorized humanity, must be considered in their historical context. My introduction is an investigation of current art historical scholarship which has linked the manipulation of form by Matisse and Picasso and shifting avant-garde practice in Paris in the years 1905 - 1908, when Cubism displaced Fauvism, to the concepts of Orientalism and Primitivism. The problem of the ideological content of images of women, which I undertake to address, arises from these studies which rely upon the assumed metaphysical fascination with the exotic or the intuitive, personal concern for erotic symbolism by the artists as a solution to meaning. The absence of a rich critical discourse surrounding the paintings encourages my approach to the problem of meaning whereby in Chapter One I examine images of women produced in Paris in the specific discourses of popular and official culture in 1906. These representations of the female are identified as ideological constructions which functioned in relation to the important and broader issues of the moment affecting the dominance of French culture: class struggle and neo-colonialism. In Chapter Two the "ugly" women of Matisse's The Blue Nude (Souvenir of Biskra) and Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon are analysed as intended avant-garde transformations of images of female prostitutes and compared with the Images of women In popular and official culture and with each other, In recognition of their function within the historical context of their production. In conclusion I suggest that the difference in meaning between these paintings by Matisse and Picasso was Ideological, operating within the context of class struggle and neo-colonialism, and defined by their distinctive conscious and unconscious use of Primitivism.<br>Arts, Faculty of<br>Art History, Visual Art and Theory, Department of<br>Graduate

Russia's ambivalent geo-political and socio-cultural position, as a self-avowed intermediary between the East and the West, shaped its double identity and played an important role in the creation of Russia's own Oriental Other. This dissertation examines the political and cultural resonance of nineteenth-century Russian art songs with oriental or Asian subjects, both within and outside of Edward Said's theoretical construct of "Orientalism." It also addresses how Russian art song composers adapted, transformed and assimilated music drawn from ethnographic sources published during the century. By contextualizing nineteenth-century Russian Orientalism through an analysis of folksong collections, ethnographies, and art songs this study addresses the very formation of the Russian image of Otherness in conjunction with the construction of a specifically Russian national and musical identity. Drawing on an extensive yet under-analyzed and under-theorized repertoire of Russian folk and art songs with oriental subjects, as well as a host of writings by Russian literati, travelers, ethnographers, and ordinary individuals about the music and culture of Russian oriental minorities, this dissertation reveals the changing nature of the theory, practice, and creation of nineteenth-century Russian music with oriental subjects, as well as the diverse and often contradictory representations of oriental Others and the extraordinary complexity of the colonizer-colonized relationship in Russia.<br>La position géopolitique et socioculturelle ambivalente de la Russie, en tant qu'intermédiaire autoproclamé entre l'orient et l'occident, a formé sa double identité et cela a joué un rôle important dans la création de son propre Autre Oriental. Cette thèse examine l'influence politique et culturelle de plusieurs mélodies russes du dix-neuvième siècle ayant des sujets orientaux ou asiatiques, à la fois à l'intérieur comme à l'extérieur du contexte « d'orientalisme » d'Edward Said. Elle analyse également la manière dont les compositeurs de mélodies russes ont adapté, transformé et assimilé la musique provenant de sources infographiques publiées tout au long du siècle. En contextualisant l'Orientalisme du dix-neuvième siècle à l'aide d'analyses de collections de chansons folkloriques, d'ethnographies, et mélodies russes, cette étude s'intéresse à la formation même de l'image russe de l'Autre conjointement à l'édification d'une identité nationale et musicale spécifiquement russe. Basée sur un répertoire abondant – bien que peu analysé et théorisé – de mélodies russes ayant des sujets orientaux, de même que plusieurs écrits d'érudits, de voyageurs, d'individus ordinaires et d'ethnographes russes à propos de la musique et de la culture des minorités orientales russes, cette thèse met en lumière la nature changeante de la théorie, la pratique et la création de la musique russe du dix-neuvième siècle ayant des sujets orientaux, de même que les représentations variées et souvent contradictoires de l'Autre oriental et l'extraordinaire complexité de la relation colonisateur-colonisé en Russie.

À travers l’étude des peintres français partis au Maroc pendant le Protectorat, cette thèse examine la structuration et le développement de l’art colonial, courant qui succède à l’orientalisme au tournant des XIXe et XXe siècles. Loin d’être un phénomène isolé, le séjour dans ce pays pendant la période coloniale concerne des centaines d’artistes. Ces voyages sont encouragés et parfois même financés par des sociétés artistiques métropolitaines et par les gouvernements coloniaux. À Paris, des Salons et des expositions, comme les Expositions coloniales ou universelles, réservent des espaces spécifiques aux œuvres sur les colonies. Plusieurs artistes, critiques et conservateurs tentent par ailleurs de montrer de quelle manière l’art colonial est utile pour la propagande colonialiste. Après avoir retracé l’expérience marocaine des peintres français, il s’agira de présenter les principales institutions artistiques et culturelles occidentales dans le Protectorat. L’art colonial reprend certains thèmes orientalistes, mais leur apporte davantage de sobriété, de pondération et de vraisemblance. L’iconographie coloniale marocaine se distingue de celles des autres colonies par le nombre important d’œuvres consacrées aux cavaliers, aux Berbères et aux monuments historiques. Cette spécificité est due en partie à la politique culturelle menée par Lyautey, au développement de l’ethnographie marocaine et aux objectifs assignés à l’art colonial. Cette analyse est complétée par un dictionnaire des artistes du corpus<br>Through the study of French painters gone to Morocco during the Protectorate, this thesis reviews the structures and the emergence of Colonial art, which followed Orientalism at the turn of the century. Far from being an isolated phenomenon, hundreds of artists stayed in this country during the colonial period. The journey is motivated and even sometimes founded by artistic metropolitan societies and by colonial governments. In Paris, Salons and exhibitions such as World's Fairs and Colonial exhibitions dedicate specific areas to works on the colonies. Many artists, critics or curators also attempt to demonstrate how Colonial art can be useful to colonial propaganda. After outlining the French painters’ Moroccan experience, the main artistic and cultural occidental institutions during the Protectorate will be presented. Colonial art continues to represent some Orientalist themes but integrate them with more restraint, moderation and realism. Moroccan colonial iconography can be distinguished from the other colonies by the amount of work dedicated to horse riders, to Berbers and to historical monuments. This particularity is partly due to the cultural policy pursued by Lyautey, to the development of Moroccan ethnography and to the specific goals targeted for Colonial art. This analysis is followed by a dictionary of the artists corpus