Orientalism:
The East Reimagined
for the Western Gaze

Jean-Léon Gérôme's painting The Snake Charmer is a sleazy imperialist vision of "the east" (Jones). The image depicts a nude boy with a snake in front of a crowd of men, adorned with Middle Eastern attire and arms. The background is a wall of Arabic calligraphy, with intricate tilework, reminiscent of Egyptian and Turkish architecture. This image, for many, is everything WRONG with orientalism. It depicts an exotic, fantasized version of the middle east. The artist, Jean-Léon Gérôme, likely never traveled to Egypt or Turkey, where this form of architecture was common ("Snake Charmer," Clark Art Institute). Thus, the image is imagined. But it seems real. It's that very illusion of authenticity which critics take issue with.

The painting is mysterious — it draws you in and makes you wonder as to the circumstances of the painting. In other words, it begs you to think about the world in which this event occurred — one as different and removed from the European world in which the viewers reside. In a large way, the emotions present in this painting become the emotions many viewers begin to have of the entire middle east.

Tightly packed nude bodies. Instruments being played. Teacups littered in the immediate foreground. It screams orientalist.

The image exemplifies the erotic nature of Orientalist paintings. It's a depiction of a private bath made public — with characters conveniently painted and arranged for visual pleasure. The music playing seems to contribute to the relaxing, unwinding environment, in which women stretch and move in erotic manners. The painting seems as if it is giving viewers a glimpse into the reality of Turkish harems. It flattens the entire region to bathtime, and in no small part, an exoticised and carefully orchestrated bath time.

The women are of an extremely fair complexion, as well, which is uncommon for actual middle eastern audiences. Some darker skinned individuals are included, although they seem to be servants. Middle Eastern ceramics are on full display, with the intention of creating a mental association in the minds of viewers: Arab tilework = exotic Turkish bathhouses.

You, the viewer, are an unseen observer. The circular composition of the painting makes it seem as if you are peeping through a hole at the harem. You get to witness the sensual experience of the Turkish bath without being there — detached from presence, and privileged with pleasures.

A Moorish Girl with Parakeet. It's a beautiful depiction of… A Moorish Girl with a Parakeet.

The image features a young woman holding a parakeet in traditional attire. Henriette Browne was one of the few female Orientalist artists, and her work is vastly different from her male contemporaries. In her travels in the Middle East, she was granted access to female quarters, which allowed her to personally interact with the subjects of her paintings. As a result, her paintings are much less fantasizing (keep in mind, males never actually saw the harems which they painted). Thus, her paintings are much less objectifying.

This painting serves as a refreshing reminder that Orientalist paintings did not have to be exoticizing or feminizing or overtly sexualizing. Rather, they can depict day to day activities, and portray a more realistic, beautiful image of the Middle East.

Still, the work depicts the Moorish girl as different. She's more relatable than the women from the Turkish Bathhouse or The Snake Charmer, but still, slightly — different. Her clothes may be slightly performative, and the simplicity of a parakeet shifts the perspective to: "if it is so simple, it must be true to the daily life of everyone in the middle east."

Nonetheless, the painting A Moorish Girl with Parakeet is far different from the other Orientalist paintings on display in this exhibit.