New to me

[james_davis_nicoll]

This is a painting by Édouard Frédéric Wilhelm Richter, who I had never heard of. As well, it's an example of "orientalist" painting, which I had also never heard of. Seems to be depictions of the east (starting at the middle east), as imagined by a painter whose online bio does not mention having ever visited the east.

Some interesting detail work in the expanded version.

Comments

[jessie_c]

So the phenomenon of unqualified white men having an Opinion(tm) about things they know not is not entirely new...

[sturgeonslawyer]

Yeah, Orientalism was a big thing in 19th-early 20th century art, and not only in painting: it had a big influene on Art Deco.

Even van Gogh did some "orientalist" stuff, including his lovely Almond Blossom. Other painters who employed or were significantly influenced by it would include Klee, Bellini, Ingres, Delacroix, Matisse, Kandinsky, and ... Picasso? Well, yes.

[elusis]

See also the manias for "japanned" cabinetry and other wood articles, and the tropes of the Geisha, the silent and pliable Chinese girl, the harem, etc. etc.

[philrm]

Yes, and the whole chinoiserie thing, which originally started in the mid- to late-17th century and reached its first peak in popularity around the mid-18th century; the late 19th-early 20th-century version was a conscious revival.

[(Anonymous)]

On van Gogh, according to Wikipedia [*] trade with Japan having been opened up in the mid 29th century quite against the will of the country's government, Vincent grew up with Japanese art, including reproducible prints, as a "new thing", and he and his brother Theo's art dealings included handling Japanese art - I don't know how that business went, it's not what Vincent is famous for, but if the Van Gogh Museum holds hundreds of genuine Japanese pieces, then I suppose the part of dealing where you sell the art may have gone less well than was wished. He painted a few literal copies of Japanese works. And as far as I see, he never went to Japan.

[*] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japonaiserie_(Van_Gogh)

Robert Carnegie

[(Anonymous)]

Theo van Gogh was a good enough art dealer to support a family, his brother, _and_ Paul Gauguin while he lived in Arles, so maybe Vincent was a proponent of the "buy two, sell one to cover the cost of both" school of selling art.

[oh6]

Well There's Your Problem has an entertaining excerpt from a bonus episode on art nouveau architecture that details an incident in the history of Orientatalism.

[dragoness_e]

I greatly enjoy Orientalist art, particularly from artists who actually traveled in the Middle East. It's vivid and colorful, and offers interesting glimpses into history, particularly in period paintings, watercolors and sketches of ancient ruins that have since been further dismantled or excavated.

[anne]

Edward Said wrote a whole book about it! Called _Orientalism_, oddly enough. It was a staple of graduate literature programs in the '90s, and I assume it still is, given how little the world has changed.

[elusis]

I was deeply resentful at having to read it as part of a "Modern British Drama" class in grad school, but that is because I was stupid and racist/colonialist without understanding this personal failure.

Once I got into grad school #2 and the scales fell from my eyes, I was very glad I had read it, and still am.

[anne]

I had to read it for my 20th century novels class, which I resented because it wasn't medieval, but by the end...yes, exactly, I'm so glad I took that class. It laid the groundwork for much of my subsequent growth.

[spiralsheep]

She does have an awful lot of hatpins, doesn't she?

[philrm]

And judging by the one in her left hand, she's prepared to use them!

[bolindbergh]

A certain Penric & Desdemona book comes to mind.

[(Anonymous)]

I hope Blessed Chio makes another appearance sometime.

[spiralsheep]

If you look closer you might see a suggestion that she's already deployed the hatpin in her left hand as there appears to be dried blood on her hand and running up her arm. I wouldn't get too close to her though.

My grandmother said women should always wear hatpins or brooches.

[(Anonymous)]

My grandmother advised me to keep my keys bunched between the fingers and go for the eyes.

Teka Lynn

[patrick_morris_miller]

Anything small, round, and tender will do nicely.

[(Anonymous)]

Left knuckles look a bit raw. And is that a bruise running up the left forearm? How did that happen?

[benbenberi]

"Orientalism" was a big thing in 19c art. First-hand experience decidedly optional.

Here's an article with links to a bunch of examples:
https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/orientalism-in-nineteenth-century-art

And another, with more examples:
https://www.mayfairgallery.com/blog/orientalist-paintings-19th-century-fantasies-east/

[wild_patience]

Re Orientalism, I can't help thinking of the early 20th century hoochie-koochie dancers in shows, giving themselves performance names like Salome. (Irving Berlin wrote a song, "Sadie Salome, Go Home," about the (Jewish) boyfriend chiding his girlfriend. "Don't do that dance, I tell you, Sadie! That ain't no business for a lady. Everybody knows that I'm your loving Mose. Oy, oy, oy, oy - where is your clothes?" This is available in the East Side Songbook, a bunch of Berlin's earlier songs.)