Oasis: Western Dreams of the Ottoman Empire
Napoleon’s military campaign in Egypt (1798–1801) sparked Western interest in the East, particularly the countries of the Ottoman Empire, an area extending from Turkey and Greece through the Middle East and North Africa. European and American artists became fascinated with what was then known as “the Orient” and the art movement known as Orientalism grew out of this preoccupation.
Oasis: Western Dreams of the Ottoman Empire from the Dahesh Museum of Art features more than sixty Orientalist paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, drawings, and books. The exhibition provides important historic and cultural perspectives on the ways in which Western artists depicted, and sometimes distorted, the many cultures of the Ottoman Empire. It also highlights the power these images had, and continue to have, on the Western imagination.
“Reality and fantasy blend in the works on view in this exhibition,” said Margaret Bullock, Curator of Collections and Special Exhibitions. “Orientalist works are full of rich detail and lush colors based on fact but often romanticized or recombined to suit the artist’s fancy.”
Some of the first Orientalist paintings were intended as propaganda in support of French imperialism, depicting the East as a barbaric place enlightened by the French. Others were created as ethnographic records of the clothing and customs of the region. As the movement spread, subjects broadened to include scenes of domestic life and religious piety, re-created historical events, or works that used the region as a backdrop for Christian religious scenes. The potency of Orientalism remained undiminished into the twentieth century. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee, and Wassily Kandinsky all created work inspired by Orientalist themes.
The exhibition is on view Saturday, September 20, 2008 through Sunday, January 4, 2009 at Tacoma Art Museum in Washington.
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