Orientalism

AND RELATED CONCEPTS

 Jean-Léon Gérôme:
The Snake Charmer, 1870
An 1883 oil painting by
Walter Charles Horsley,
titled ‘‘Women and an Old
Man in the Harem,’’ recalls
Western artists’ depictions
of the East, though few
painters had seen such
scenes themselves.
The Sultan’s Favorite, no date. Juan Giménez Martín (Spanish 1858-1901), Flagler System, Inc.
For centuries the Muslim harem, a favorite subject of Orientalist artists, has evoked images of exotic beauty,
sensuality, and wealth. This realm of wives, children, servants, and sometimes slaves was forbidden to nearly all
westerners, and first-hand accounts of the customs and lifestyles of the harem were rare. Such restrictions, however,
only served to heighten curiosity and interest in harem life in the West.
Eugène Delacroix, La
Chasse au lion (Lion
Hunt), 1855. Oil on
canvas, 175 x 359 cm.
Musée des beaux-arts,
Bordeaux.
Eugène DELACROIX Charenton-Saint-Maurice, 1798 - Paris, 1863 Arabe
étendu par terre dans la campagne Aquarelle sur trait de crayon
 Definition
The Orientalism is a born literary and artistic movement in Western Europe in
the 18th century. For its size and vogue throughout the XIXth century.

It marks the interest and curiosity of artists and writers for the west country (the
Maghreb) or the Levant (the Middle East). Orientalism was born out of the
fascination of the Ottoman Empire and followed its slow disintegration after the
Greek War of Independence in the 1820s and the progression of European
colonizations. This exotic trend is associated with all the artistic currents of the
XIXth century, academic, romantic, realistic and impressionist. It is present in
architecture, music, painting, literature, poetry… A picturesque aesthetic,
confusing styles, civilizations and eras, Orientalism has created many clichés and
clichés that can still be found today in literature or cinema.
Orientalism is a 1978 book by
Edward W. Said, in which the author
establishes the eponymous term "Orientalism"
as a critical concept to describe the West's
commonly contemptuous depiction and
portrayal of "The East,"
 Edward Said’s Orientalism
Orientalism is a “style of thought based upon an ontological and epistemological distinction
made between "the Orient" and (most of the time) "the Occident."”(Said, 1977, p.3) He also
claims that Orientalism is a western strategy based on biases and prejudices which they make
the most of them as their justifications for their material exploitations. Occident portrays Orient
devoid of any culture, reason, to name just a few. It is mainly a discourse to rule over Oriental
lands and to shape Orientalized Orient who can best serve Occidents. He brings a lot of
evidences to show the existence of these misconceptions and misunderstandings to prove that
Westerners are on the wrong track. One can see clearly that Orientalism is “a Western style for
dominating, restructuring, and having authority over the Orient.” (Said, 1977, p.4)
 Edward Said’s Orientalism

“The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe's
greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and
languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring
images of the Other” (Said, 1977,p.2).
They take a step further and define themselves in terms of Orient
“The Orient has helped to define Europe (or the West) as its
contrasting image, idea, personality, experience”. (Said, 1977, p.2)
 Binary
oposition
Other; they; them; there
Self; we; us; here
Passive;Inferior;Slave
Active;Superior;Master
Backward
Modern
Brown; yellow; black
White
sentimental
Rational
Orients were barbaric and
West as its contrasting image uncivilized race,
Occident is whatever Orient So the Orient as an inferior
fails to be race associated with
barbarism, passivity
This sense of superiority enables them to
usurp and exploit Oriental lands and present
a false image of them.
Superiority vs inferiority
Said asserts that the Orientalists do not innocently describe the Orient
but also create and maintain the Orient. Occident considers himself
superior to the Orient and Said thinks that the root of this feeling is in
the color of the skin. The color of the skin give them the legitimation
to govern non- white ones; they even draw to Charles Darwin's
Theory of Evolution that believes in gradual development of animals
and plants to give legitimization to this notion”
Synthesis
the scope of Said's scholarship established Orientalism as a
foundational text in the field of postcolonial studies, by denoting and
examining the connotations of Orientalism, and the history of a given
country's post-colonial period.
 Thank you
for your attention