The Orientalists - Ingrès, Delacroix, Gérome... From 19 April 2024
In the 19th century, Western artists discovered the Orient, drawn by its mysteries and remote lands. Fascinated by the intense light of the South, which highlights the relief of the deserts and the bright colours of the ornate buildings, Orientalist painters such as Delacroix, Gérôme, Ingres and many others invited us on a pictorial journey to an exotic and captivating world.
The journey begins with Delacroix's travel diaries, which plunge us into a world rich in contrasts of light and shadow, aromas of spices and melodies of oriental instruments, capturing spontaneous scenes. Later, other illustrious painters such as Constant, Frère, Vernet, Gérôme, Guillaumet, Belly, Richter, Dinet and others sketched the outlines of a desirable and opulent elsewhere. They guide us through the winding streets and markets of Oriental cities, inviting us to discover cool, shady interiors, to join in the dance of the Oriental spirit, to explore the patios of sumptuous palaces. Follow these artists on their explorations and cross an unforgiving desert, stopping off at refreshing oases. Meet wild animals, a favourite theme of hunting in Orientalist art. Moucharabiehs offer a glimpse into the secret world of harems, a space of sensuality and fantasy inaccessible to the artists who imagined their scenes. The fumes of the hammam reveal bathers in sublime forms, and the curtain finally rises on Ingres's "La Grande Odalisque", the epitome of dreamy, idealised Orientalism. The dream ends and you find yourself back in the Parisian salons of the 19th century, having experienced, as if through a mirage, the Orient dreamt of by the Orientalists.
Production: Culturespaces Studio ® / Artistic director: Virginie Martin / Design and production: Cutback / Music supervision and mixing: Start Rec
