Page 207 - Memory of the East
P. 207
eph Kors, Eugène Delacroix, Eugène
Fromentin, and Carl Oscar Borg portray
horses, donkeys and camels, as well as
public scenes of Cairo and Damanhour,
entrances of mosques, excursions to Asia,
scenes of Old Cairo and its gateways,
mosques, the Pyramids, and so on in
many other paintings. Many paintings
show the Nile, traditional men's and
women's costumes, decayed old houses,
shattered windows, mashrabiyyas,
people buying and selling goods, people
drinking Turkish coffee, mosque domes,
cemeteries, palm trees, ships, small and
large trees, donkey carts, old streets, and
cracked land, as well as the outskirts of
cities, villages, and deserts, the deserted
places without humans, and other things
related to animals or objects. However,
humans are often absent, even if they Eugène Delacroix, 1798 / 1863, Arab Chieftain,
Pastel on paper, 39.5 x 32 cm.
were present, they are disregarded. They
are portrayed from afar, from a distance, or the back, as if eyes were staring at and
following them without approaching. They did not want to interact with or treat
them as humans with dreams, feelings, fears, and desires. They were turned into
subjects, not characters in many paintings. Women also appear to be only subjects of
sensuousness, sex, and gratification. They often sit half-naked, grieving and looking at
the unknown despite these beautiful compositions of their bodies and facial features.
When men are the theme of the painting, if appeared, the focus is on the idea
of the nomadism, desert, tent, and tribe, but when women are the theme of the
painting, the focus is on the idea of
the harem, sex, bathing rituals and the
like. The woman is often portrayed from
behind from the back of her body. she
gives her back to the world; it is the look
that she does not want to look out of her
eyes as her feelings or conflicts not be
perceived. As a theme, she is depicted
leaning on a couch or bed surrounding
by curtains, trying to turn her head to look
at whom looks, portrays or approaches Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1780 / 1867,
Fátima, Oil paints, 61.5 x 44 cm, 1814.
her: “Fatima en Odalisque” painting by
205
Fromentin, and Carl Oscar Borg portray
horses, donkeys and camels, as well as
public scenes of Cairo and Damanhour,
entrances of mosques, excursions to Asia,
scenes of Old Cairo and its gateways,
mosques, the Pyramids, and so on in
many other paintings. Many paintings
show the Nile, traditional men's and
women's costumes, decayed old houses,
shattered windows, mashrabiyyas,
people buying and selling goods, people
drinking Turkish coffee, mosque domes,
cemeteries, palm trees, ships, small and
large trees, donkey carts, old streets, and
cracked land, as well as the outskirts of
cities, villages, and deserts, the deserted
places without humans, and other things
related to animals or objects. However,
humans are often absent, even if they Eugène Delacroix, 1798 / 1863, Arab Chieftain,
Pastel on paper, 39.5 x 32 cm.
were present, they are disregarded. They
are portrayed from afar, from a distance, or the back, as if eyes were staring at and
following them without approaching. They did not want to interact with or treat
them as humans with dreams, feelings, fears, and desires. They were turned into
subjects, not characters in many paintings. Women also appear to be only subjects of
sensuousness, sex, and gratification. They often sit half-naked, grieving and looking at
the unknown despite these beautiful compositions of their bodies and facial features.
When men are the theme of the painting, if appeared, the focus is on the idea
of the nomadism, desert, tent, and tribe, but when women are the theme of the
painting, the focus is on the idea of
the harem, sex, bathing rituals and the
like. The woman is often portrayed from
behind from the back of her body. she
gives her back to the world; it is the look
that she does not want to look out of her
eyes as her feelings or conflicts not be
perceived. As a theme, she is depicted
leaning on a couch or bed surrounding
by curtains, trying to turn her head to look
at whom looks, portrays or approaches Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1780 / 1867,
Fátima, Oil paints, 61.5 x 44 cm, 1814.
her: “Fatima en Odalisque” painting by
205
