- Hardcover: 296 pages
- Publisher: Abbeville Press; illustrated edition edition (Feb 1 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0789204592
- ISBN-13: 978-0789204592
- Product Dimensions: 34.7 x 29.3 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 2.9 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #621,741 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
Among the more remarkable crosscurrents affecting the development of European painting in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the influence of the exotic cultures of the Middle East and North Africa. Initiated by Napoleon's incursion into Egypt in 1798, European artists (both visitors and stay-at-homes) seized on this non-European world to enrich their imaginations and palettes. Peltre's (history of contemporary art, Universite des Sciences Humaines, Strasbourg, France) scintillating overview of Orientalism concentrates largely on the French response but also reaches out to an equally telling but briefer consideration of English, German, Italian, and American work. Without slighting the impact of European imperial ventures, political events, and literary influences, the author convincingly structures her historical synthesis within the broader contours and conventions of European painting. In addition, there are vivid characterizations of works by acknowledged masters like Delacroix, Ingres, and Matisse as well as due consideration of almost innumerable lesser lights like Lewis, Fromentin, and Gerome. Although the sculptural and architectural ramifications of Orientalism are neglected, the excellent text and the plethora of exquisitely reproduced but unfamiliar images are reason enough to acquire this splendid volume.?Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Nineteenth-century Europe was fascinated by the Orient. Napoleon's Egyptian campaign of 1798 initiated this phenomenon, and its history included the Greek uprising against the Turks in 1821 and the French taking of Algiers in 1830. Artists of the period, too, were captivated by these events, and the rich body of imagery they produced is the subject of this volume.
Author Christine Peltre's elegant text retraces Orientalism's artistic history, in which the French and British schools predominated. The "high poetry" of the Romantics' Orient strove for dramatic effect, as the works of David Roberts, Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps, and Eugene Delacroix attest. A different brand of imagery was produced by the "ethnographic gaze" of the century's middle years, practiced by artists such as John Frederick Lewis, Eugene Fromentin, Jean-Leon Gerome, A. D. Ingres, and Adolphe Monticelli. Work of this kind was eventually superseded by a "third style", a fusion of European and Eastern elements, as seen in the work of August Macke, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Henri Matisse.
Witnesses to a history that they influenced in subtle ways through their imagery, the Orientalist painters also produced a history of their own, that of a spiritual and formal quest to find in the "East" the ideal of "primitive" purity. Orientalism in Art covers all these facets, making it an indispensable volume for art historians and anyone with a passion for Orientalist art.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite Exploration of the Genre,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Orientalism in Art (Hardcover)
This is a magnificent volume that explores the fascination that 'Western' artists have had with the exotic imagery of the Middle East for several hundred years. The book is large format and the artwork is beautifully printed (also in refreshingly large format) with some choice 'detail' views of key pieces to further one's appreciation of the skills of the artist's included in the work. The text by noted art historian Christine Peltre is well written and informative. The images included cover the full range of subject matter associated with the Orientalist genre - including battle scenes, harem scenes, dramatic landscapes & street life, and the often surreal depictions of the archaelogical wonders of ancient Egypt that fired the imaginations of countless Europeans & North Americans from the 17th century right up till the present day. I would higly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the subject.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews) 54 of 55 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful coffee table book,
By Angel Lee "Liocorno Amethyst Moonstone" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Orientalism in Art (Hardcover)
This lavish volume shows the strong influence of Oriental themes on Nineteenth Century European art. The European fascination with everything Oriental is evident in the wide range of paintings in this book. The author explains how and why the Oriental subjects became so pervasive. She draws extensively on the writings of the artists themselves and their critics to provide the background for this movement. The book is thoroughly illustrated in full color of the highest quality. Subject matter includes striking landscapes & architecturals, historical scenes, native peoples, sensual women & harem scenes. This book is appealing on different levels. As a coffee table book it is beautiful to browse. As a scholarly work it brings together and makes sense of many artists' work within a common cultural theme.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
fabulous,
By Jewel Shepard - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Orientalism in Art (Hardcover)
This is an exquisite reference text. The plates are beautiful. I was very pleased with the range of artists and their respective works. I wholeheartedly recommend this book.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Cursory Introduction to Orientalism,
By Marco Antonio Abarca - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Orientalism in Art (Hardcover)
My review pertains to a paperback entitled "Orientalism" by Christine Peltre published in 2004 by Editions Terrail. I assume this is the same book as "Orientalism in Art". Christine Peltre is a French academic who has written a cursory introduction to the theme of Orientalism in Western Art. Peltre's chapters present different themes in Orientalism which she illustrates with a representative pictures. These themes include such topics as "The Invention of the Meditteranean","From Decoration to Collection" and "Serving Colonialism". The topics are interesting but she only covers them briefly."Orientalism" the paperback, can be purchased for around twenty dollars and is a good value. The pictures are well reproduced and the writing is decent. I would have given it five stars but there is a better value out there for the money. For someone new to Orientalism, I would first recommend "The Orient in Western Art" by Gerard Georges Lemaire. It costs about the same as Peltre's "Orientalism" and is a much larger book with more paintings and better written chapters. Finally, if you can find a copy of Kristian Davies, "The Orientalists" at a reasonable price, pick it up. It is probably the best single source in English for the topic of Orientalism in Western Art. |
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