In the 19th century, a fad for the Orient appeared. The artists were inspired by its luxury, its mystery and of course, the supernatural that surrounded this part of the world. But this new craze for Orientalism was also the reflection of several historical events such as:
-the Egyptian campaign (1798-1799)
-the Greek war for Independence (1821-1829)
-the conquest of Algiers by the French (1830)
-the opening of the Suez Canal (1869)
-the progressive dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire because of rivalries and of colonial ambitions.
My presentation will be divided into three part: a history of Orientalism, Orientalism in the arts, and Edward Said and Orientalism.
A- History of Orientalism:
1- Definition of the term "Orientalism"
Orientalism is the study of Near and Far-Eastern societies and cultures by westerners (first meaning).
But it can also refer to the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists (second meaning).
The first meaning of the term is mainly used to refer to the study of the East during the period of European imperialism in the 18th and 19th centuries. Nowadays, when we talk about "Orientalism", it is mainly with regard to its second meaning, that is to say "Orientalism" as a pictorial genre.
2- Who were the first "Orientalists"?
The first "Orientalists" were 19th century scholars who translated the writings of the Orient into English, based on the supposition that an effective colonial conquest required knowledge of the conquered peoples. This is the idea of knowledge as a power exposed by Said (a Palestinian scholar). Said thinks that by knowing the Orient, the West came to own it. There is the image of the Orient as passive while the West was active. So according to Said, it is imperialism which motivated Orientalism. Without imperialism, westerners would never have study Near and Far-Eastern societies and culture.
3- Negative image of the oriental people
By the mid-19th century "oriental studies" was becoming an established academic discipline. However, while scholarly study expanded, so did racist attitudes and popular stereotypes. Eastern art and literature were still seen as "exotic" and as inferior to the Western ideals. The East’s political and economic systems were generally thought to be feudal "oriental despotism". Many critical theorists regard this form of Orientalism as being representative of the Westerners' colonial mind, justified by the concept of the "white man's burden". The "white man's burden" was the idea that the white men had to civilized, to educate and to christianized peoples of other religion.
B- Orientalism in Art: