11 Orientalist Paintings by Artists from the 19th Century, with footnotes, #15

Orientalism is a term that is used for the depiction of aspects in Middle Eastern cultures. It refers to the works of the Western artists on Oriental subjects, produced from their travels in Western Asia, during the 19th century. Depictions of Islamic "Moors" and "Turks" can be found in Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque art. A creative apprehension of a completely different world with its own laws, customs, special attitude towards life and death, love, feelings, and beauty. Wikipedia/Yana Naumovna Lukashevskaya

Henri ROUSSEAU, 1875 - 1933 
Les cavaliers - 1919 
Huile sur panneau 
h: 46 w: 55 cm
Private collection

Henri Rousseau Henry, Emilien Rousseau (Cairo 1875 - Aix-en-Provence in 1933) is an Orientalist painter. A pupil of Jean-Léon Gérôme at the Beaux Arts in Paris, he won the second Grand Prix de Rome in 1900 and a travel grant at the Salon of French Artists. He traveled to Belgium, the Netherlands, North Africa, Spain and Italy where he admired the great masters (Rubens, Rembrandt, Velasquez, Murillo, the Titian, Raphael etc ...)

After this initiatory journey, he settled in Versailles and set up his studio at the Villa des Arts in Paris. In 1919 he moved to Aix in Provence with his large family (seven children). Knight of the Legion of Honour in arts. His work  is dedicated to Tunisia, Algeria and especially Morocco, Provence and the Camargue remained its anchor points. His success was with a bourgeois and wealthy clientele, where he sold his work at numerous exhibitions in Paris, Brussels, Stockholm, Marseilles. More Henri Rousseau

Henry PONTOY, 1888 - 1968 
Souk sheep/ Sheep Market
Oil on canvas 
h: 81 w: 100 cm
Private collection

Henri Pontoy, born in Reims on 5 February 1888 and died in 1968, was a French painter. Pontoy entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, in the studio of Luc-Olivier Merson. In 1926 he was awarded a travel grant by the French Colonial Society of French Artists, which enabled him to travel to North Africa, notably in Tunisia, where he became a member of the Salon Tunisien in the same year, and then went to Morocco and In French West Africa . He lived several years around 1930 in Ouarzazate. He became professor of arts and letters at the Moulay Idriss high school in Fez . He is the winner of the 1933 Grand Prize of the city of Algiers. He left after the Second World War, in 1947, to Guinea, Ivory Coast and Cameroon . He received the prize of Cameroon in 1951. His fresh palette, airy and warm colors, both in oils and in watercolors, had always met a great success. He was one of the last French representatives of Orientalism. More on Henri Pontoy

Jacques MAJORELLE, 1886 - 1962 
The Mokhazni 
Oil on canvas 
h: 80 w: 80 cm 
Private collection

The Mokhazni, a tribe in Morocco 

Jacques Majorelle (March 7, 1886 - October 14, 1962), son of the celebrated Art Nouveau furniture designer Louis Majorelle, was a French painter. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nancy in 1901 and later at the Académie Julian in Paris with Schommer and Royer.

In 1919 he went to Marrakech, Morocco to recover from heart problems. He returned to France in 1962 after a car incident and died later that year of complications from his injuries. More on Jacques Majorelle 

Léon-Adolphe-Auguste Belly, SAINT OMER 1827 - PARIS 1877
BIG RIDDEN CAMEL GRAZING, STUDY FOR PILGRIMS GOING TO MECCA
Oil on canvas
60,5 x 50 cm ; 23 3/4 by 19 3/4 in.
Private collection

Léon Auguste Adolphe Belly (1827–1877) was a French landscape painter. He was born at St. Omer, in 1827. He studied under Troyon, and in 1849 visited Barbizon where he came under the influence of Théodore Rousseau.

In 1850–1 he travelled to Greece, Syria, and the Black Sea. In 1853 he made his debut at the Paris Salon, exhibiting four landscapes of Nablus and Beirut, and of the shores of the Dead Sea, which attracted critical acclaim. In 1855–6 he visited Egypt, travelling up the Nile in the company of another painter, Edouard Imer. A second trip to Egypt in 1856 was largely spent making studies for his painting Pilgrims going to Mecca, now in the Musée d'Orsay (below).

As well as his paintings of Middle Eastern subjects he painted portraits and landscapes of Normandy and the Sologne throughout his career, and in 1867 bought land at Montauban. He died in Paris in 1877. More on Léon Auguste Adolphe Belly

Léon-Adolphe-Auguste Belly, SAINT OMER 1827 - PARIS 1877
Pilgrims going to Mecca, c. 1861
Oil on canvas
Height: 1,610 mm (63.39 in). Width: 2,420 mm (95.28 in).

For this work, regarded, from the moment it was presented, to be a masterpiece of Orientalist painting, Belly chose to present an ambitious subject on a canvas of unusually large size. It depicts a long caravan crossing the desert, making its way towards Mecca, Islam's holiest city and place of pilgrimage for all Muslims.

Léon-Adolphe-Auguste Belly, SAINT OMER 1827 - PARIS 1877, see above


Adolf Meckel von Hemsbach, BERLIN 1856 - 1893 BERLIN, éCOLE ALLEMANDE
BEDOUINS IN THE DESERT, c. 1891
Oil on canvas, unframed
181 x 266 cm ; 71 1/4 by 104 3/4 in
Private collection

The Bedouin is a grouping of nomadic Arab peoples who have historically inhabited the desert regions in North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, and the Levant. The English word bedouin comes from the Arabic badawī, which means "desert dweller" and is traditionally contrasted with ḥāḍir, the term for sedentary people. They are traditionally divided into tribes, or clans and share a common culture of herding camels and goats. More on The Bedouin 

Adolf Meckel of Hemsbach (* 17th February 1856 in Berlin ; † 24. May 1893 ) was a German landscape and genre painter. After the early death of his father, he spent his childhood with the maternal grandparents in Saint Petersburg. He studied painting at the Karlsruhe Academy of Fine Arts in Hans Gude. From 1880 to 1881 he visited the Arab countries of Egypt , Palestine , the coast of the Dead Sea, in Jordan. Further journeys led him to the countries of the North African Maghreb . Among others, he visited St. Catherine's Monastery at the foot of Mount Sinai . Besides the tropical landscapes he created numerous orientale genre scenes. After his final return he was initially based in Karlsruhe, then moved in 1892 back into his own country.

Meckel regularly presented his work at the Royal Academy of Arts in Berlin exhibition, the Great Berlin Art Exhibition, as well as in Munich Glass Palace. He also exhibited in Dresden, Stuttgart and Vienna. In 1893, he took his own life. More on Adolf Meckel of Hemsbach

School of Paul Emil Jacobs,  (1802–1866)
The Pasha's Favourite (Ali Pasha and Kira Vassiliki), c. 1844
Oil on canvas
102.5 × 123 cm (40.4 × 48.4 in)
Private collection

Vassiliki Kontaxi, nicknamed Kyra Vassiliki, Lady Vassiliki, 1789 – 1834) was an influential Greek woman brought up in the seraglio of the Ottoman ruler Ali Pasha. Vassiliki was born in the Greek village of Plisivitsa in Thesprotia. At the age of twelve she sought an audience with the local Ottoman ruler, Ali Pasha, to intercede for her father's life. Having granted her father pardon, Ali Pasha married Vassiliki in 1808 and she joined his harem. Being allowed to practice her Christian faith, she interceded on behalf of Greeks. During this period she undertook a number of charity initiatives. In 1819–20 she financed a number of restoration works in Mount Athos.

In January 1822, during the last stage of the siege of Ioannina by the Ottoman Sultan's forces, Vassiliki together with Ali Pasha and his private guard escaped to Ioannina Island. Ali Pasha was executed there on January 22 by an Ottoman delegation, having being declared an outlaw by the Sultan. Following Ali's death, Vassiliki was sent as a prisoner to the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. She was later pardoned and returned to Greece, which meanwhile gained its independence after the successful Greek War of Independence (1821–30). In 1830, the Greek state gave Vassiliki a medieval tower in Katochi, where she lived the rest of her life. She died in 1834. More on Kyra Vassiliki

Paul Emil Jacobs (August 20, 1802 in Gotha – January 6, 1866) was a German painter. Jacobs received his art training at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and first became known for his painting of Mercury and Argus (from Classical mythology). In 1824 he went to Rome, where he attracted critical attention by painting "The Raising of Lazarus". In 1836 he made a series of historical paintings at the Welfenschloss in Hannover.

Jacobs was noted for his mastery of nudes, expressed particularly in the representation of such Orientalist themes as "A slave market" or of sleeping and waking boys. His image of Scheherezade from Arabian Nights is noted for its light effects. The famous Ali Pasha was depicted by Jacobs in a moment of relaxed intimacy with his favorite mistress (or wife) Kira Vassiliki (above).

Like many Europeans of his generation, Jacobs shared in the Philhellene sympathy for the Greek War of Independence, which took place when he was in the early stage of his artistic career. This was manifested in his painting very sympathetic pictures of "Greek Freedom Fighters".

Jacobs was also a portrait painter. Lithographed portraits by him include those of Goethe, Karl Gottlieb Bretschneider and Döring.

In 1844, Jacobs created the monumental altarpiece "Calvary", for St. Augustine's Church in Gotha. It was removed from St. Augustine's in 1939, and since 1998 the altarpiece has been located in the church of Hohenleuben. More on Paul Emil Jacobs

Raymond Auguste Quinsac Monvoisin
Ali Pasha with his favourite mistress Kira Vassiliki, c. 1846
Oil on canvas
height: 91.4 cm (35.9 in); width: 74.9 cm (29.4 in)
Private collection

Raymond Auguste Quinsac Monvoisin (May 31, 1790 – March 26, 1870) was a French artist and painter.

Monvoisin was born in Bordeaux. At the age of eighteen Monvoisin fully dedicated himself to painting. He moved from Bordeaux to Paris and was employed at the workshop of Pierre Guérin. He studied in the Académie des Beaux-Arts of France, and his work soon earned him the support of the critics. He was hired by merchants, bankers and other members of the newly emerging middle-class. In 1819 he carried out his first exposition in the Museum of the Louvre. The fame he achieved in his own country earned him the Legion of Honor. After obtaining recognition in Paris, he travelled to Italy where he obtained a scholarship to study in Villa Medici in Rome.

Monvoisin travelled to Argentina and from there to Chile. He received an official invitation from the Chilean government to direct the Academy of Painting. Preceded by his fame, he was introduced to the high-class families of the capital and, in turn, to work as a successful portrayer. 

He dedicated his efforts to many different activities during his stay in Chile. He traveled through the country, invested in mines, and created a ranching estate Along with French painter Clara Filleul, he mobilized the pictorial art in Chile and Argentina. He was elevated to a Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1857, and returned to France in 1858, but his fame had vanished.

He died in poverty in 1870 at Boulogne-sur-Mer. More on Raymond Monvoisin

Charles-Zacharie Landelle, LAVAL 1812 - 1908 CHENNEVIÈRES-SUR-MARNE
THE FELLAH LADY
Oil on canvas
131 x 84 cm ; 51 1/2 by 33 in.
Private collection

Fellah is a farmer or agricultural laborer in the Middle East and North Africa. The word derives from the Arabic word for "ploughman" or "tiller".

A fellah could be seen wearing a simple cotton robe called galabieh (jellabiya). The word Galabieh originated around 1715–25 and derived from the Egyptian Arabic word gallabīyah. More on Fallah

Zacharie Charles Landelle, born on 2 June 1821 In Laval, the October 13 , 1908 In Chennevières-sur-Marne, is a French painter and portraitist. Born to a modest family. In 1857 he married Alice Letronne, daughter of the general of the guard Jean-Antoine Letronne who saved the National Archives in 1848 . Two sons, Georges and Paul, were born of this union, all of whom died during the lifetime of their father.

He followed his father  to Paris 1827. He only return to his hometown only at the end of his life.

He developed a talent and a very solid craft at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris where he was admitted in 1837 as a pupil of Paul Delaroche and Ary Scheffer . At the beginning of his career, he painted several portraits to support himself. Influenced by Italian paintings after traveling in the South of France and Italy, he made copies of some of the paintings by the great masters of the Renaissance at the Louvre.

His portraits and large religious paintings were instantly successful, and allowed him to gain the recognition of the high society of the nineteenth century. Napoleon III admired him very much, bought from him the two canvases of the Beatitudes ( 1852 ) to offer them to the city of Laval. He received numerous state commissions.

From his travels in North Africa and the Middle East in the 1860s , he created works that were often very successful. His first voyage to Morocco dates from 1866. In 1866 he painted Femme Fellah, which earned him the nickname of a painter of the fellahs , a work purchased by the Emperor for his personal collection, but destroyed in the fire at the Château de Saint-Cloud in 1870. A replica, executed By Charles Landelle, is preserved in the museum of the Old Castle of Laval.

In 1875 , he is in Egypt, and travels the Nile with the explorer Mariette . He travelled each year to the East, or Algeria and returned with paintings. At the end of his life, Charles Landelle encouraged the creation in Laval of a museum of painting which he inaugurated in 1895, at the height of his glory, alongside the President of the Republic : it is the current Science Museum. More on Zacharie Charles Landelle

Georges Rochegrosse, 1859 - 1938, FRENCH
IDLE MOMENTS
Oil on canvas
54 by 65cm., 21¼ by 25¾in.
Private collection

Georges Antoine Rochegrosse (1859–1938) was a French historical and decorative painter. He was born at Versailles and studied in Paris with Jules Joseph Lefebvre and Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger. His themes are generally historical, and he treated them on a colossal scale and in an emotional naturalistic style, with a distinct revelling in horrible subjects and details. He made his Paris Salon début in 1882 with Vitellis traîné dans les rues de Rome par la populace (Vitellius dragged through the streets of Rome by the people) (1882; Sens). He followed this the year afterwards with Andromaque (1882–83; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen), which won that year's prestigious Prix du Salon. There followed La Jacquerie (1885; Untraced), Le mort de Babylone (The fall of Babylon) (1891; Untraced), The death of the Emperor Geta (1899; Musée de Picardie, Amiens), and Barbarian ambassadors at the Court of Justinian (1907; untraced), all of which exemplify his strong and spirited but sensational and often brutal painting. In quite another style and beautiful in color is his Le Chevalier aux Fleurs (The Knight of Flowers) (1894; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; RF 898). More on Georges Antoine Rochegrosse

He was elected an Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1892 and received the medal of honor in 1906 for The Red Delight. Rochegrosse also illustrated several books. Some of the drawings for these illustrations are in the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum, London. He lived his final years in Algeria, but returned to Paris where he died and is buried in Montparnasse Cemetery. His wife, Marie Rochegrosse (née Leblond), had died in 1920.

Fabio Fabbi, 1861-1946, ITALIAN
THE BLUE VEIL
Oil on canvas
70 by 40cm., 27.5 by 15¾in.
Private collection

Fabio Fabbi was born in Bologna, Italy in 1861. As a young man, he enrolled at the Accademia Di Belle Arti in Florence and studied sculpture and painting in the 1880s, winning prizes in both categories. After his studies, he travelled to Paris, Munich, and Egypt, which was the inspiration for his Orientalist subjects. 

Upon his return to Italy, he dedicated himself solely to painting and was honoured with the distinction of professorship at the Accademia.

Fabbi's depictions of odalisques and bazaars which were well-received by the public, and his output was prolific. From 1884 onward, Fabbi regularly contributed to exhibitions in Turin, Milan and Florence. More Fabio Fabbi

John William Waterhouse
IN THE HAREM, AN ODALISQUE
oil on canvas
46 by 27cm., 18 by 10½in
Private collection

John William Waterhouse (April 6, 1849 – February 10, 1917) was an English painter known for working in the Pre-Raphaelite style. He worked several decades after the breakup of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, which had seen its heyday in the mid-nineteenth century, leading to his sobriquet "the modern Pre-Raphaelite". Borrowing stylistic influences not only from the earlier Pre-Raphaelites but also from his contemporaries, the Impressionists, his artworks were known for their depictions of women from both ancient Greek mythology and Arthurian legend.
Born in Italy to English parents who were both painters, he later moved to London, where he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Art. He soon began exhibiting at their annual summer exhibitions, focusing on the creation of large canvas works depicting scenes from the daily life and mythology of ancient Greece. Later on in his career he came to embrace the Pre-Raphaelite style of painting despite the fact that it had gone out of fashion in the British art scene several decades before. More John William Waterhouse



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