The period of the 19th century was marked by the intensive expansion of Europe into the Orient. In this area, more noble nations performed cultural political dominance over less noble ones. In order to consolidate the idea of power and justify their actions, they developed a series of ideologies that clearly distinguished Westerners from Easterners. The established visions of Orient were so deeply rooted in the minds that they also penetrated in the field of art and affected many artists. Certainly they had a strong impact on Jean Leon Gérôme, who represents one of the leading French artists of the second half of the 19th century. He devoted most of his work to oriental themes. His interest for such themes became more intensive during his first trip to the countries of the Middle East. Later on he visited the nearby Mediterranean places several more times. On his travels, he always precisely recorded the world around him in a sketchbook. On his expeditions, Gérôme was often accompanied by photographers who documented oriental motifs. He also collected a variety of artifacts, which, served as aids for the detailed study and execution of works of art on his return to homeland. Just as like as all Orientalist painters, he was interested in a world of strangeness and otherness that could only be seen in the Orient. His collection of travel motifs contains quite a few portraits, however, the artist most often depicts genre in which male and female figures perform everyday tasks. As a Western male artist, the world of men was more accessible than the world of Oriental women. On a daily basis, he came in contact with male characters while performing prayers, dancing, socializing and at the bazaar, yet neither he was not even invited into their world and nor wanted to be a part of it. As most of Orientalist, he preferred to observe people from a distance. Unlike men, his female depictions are most often shown at baths in spas or as slaves for sale on markets. Although the artist seems to be well acquainted with this intimate female world enriched by luxurious interiors full of nudes, this is not the case. Mostly these depictions represent a mere fantasy that men could not get close to in reality. The artist was torn between reality and fiction, but he was certainly not a suitable company of the people on his artwork. They only represented an interesting motif, that led him to a grand success at Paris Salon. During his life the artist received widespread recognition and even today he is considered one of the best academically educated painters that depicted the mysteries of Orient.
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