User:Mcsorley j/sandbox

/Linda Nochlin

Orientalism
Following Edward Said's influential 1978 book, Orientalism, Nochlin was one of the first art historians to apply theories of Orientalism to the study of art history, specifically in her 1983 paper, "The Imaginary Orient." Her key assertion is that Orientalism must be seen from the point-of-view of 'the particular power structure in which these works came into being," in this case, 19th century French colonialism. Nochlin focuses primarily on the 19th century French artists Jean-Leon Gérôme and Eugène Delacroix, who both depicted 'orientalist' themes in their work, including, respectively, The Snake Charmer and The Death of Sardanapalus.  In Gérôme's "The Snake Charmer," from the late 1860s, Nochlin describes how Gérôme created a sense of verisimilitude not only in how he made the painting-- by rendering the scene with such realistic precision one almost forgets a painter painted it-- but in capturing the most minute details, such as meticulously painted tiles. As a result, the painting appears to be documentary evidence of life in the Ottoman court while, according to Nochlin, it is in fact a Westerner's vision of a mysterious world. In Delacroix's "The Death of Sardanapalus" from 1827, Nochlin argues the artist uses Orientalism to explore overt erotic and violent themes that may not necessarily reflect France's cultural hegemony but rather the chauvinism and misogyny of early 19th century French society.

Nochlin says it is often what is not seen or shown that is equally telling: No Europeans, no sense of contemporary events or contemporary society. This enhances the sense of a place trapped in time.