L'orientalisme

Cradle of Occidental civilization, Orient fascinated the Europeans. From the 18th century, the artists, whose curiosity was aroused by the development of diplomatic and trade exchanges with this "new far", captured its subjects. The Orientalist movement was involved in all pictorial genres: ordinary life, popular arts and traditions, panoramic views of cities and scenic spots, portraits of officials and royal ceremonies...

From Liotard to Renoir, through Girodet, Delacroix, Ingres, Chassériau, Vernet, Decamps, Fromentin, Lear, Lewis or Alma-Tadema, this book, substantiated by numerous literary sources, recounts the appeal of painters for Orient from the 18th-century embassies to the colonial era.