The Popular Subject Matter of Harem in Orientalist Paintings
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814
Have you seen the harem painting La Grande Odalisque at the Louvre? If not, you will be charmed by its exotic representations: the peacock fan and the jewellery on the naked female body are divine. In the late nineteenth century, the harem was a popular subject matter in Orientalist paintings as a representation of the East to the West.
For many, the exotic representations pleased their perspective, affirming Western imperial power by specifying a view of gender, ethnicity, and race. We ourselves have often been influenced by these representations. Have you ever questioned artistic historical representations of gender, ethnicity, and race? Have you asked yourself if they are real in the historical context or falsely constructed?
The term harem originates from the Arabic word ‘haram’, which means ‘forbidden’ or ‘sacred’.
We always see harem in Orientalist paintings, such as La Grande Odalisque, as a site of debauchery, reflecting the masculine European desire to conquer the sacred realm. The feminine colonial subject was also popular in female Orientalist paintings, projecting the Eurocentric patriarchal unconscious bias and imperial subjectivities.
The popular depiction of the harem did, and still does, serve as a pleasure in looking for male gazes and more generally, a colonial gaze. The market demand for such specific representation of the Orient promoted Western democracy further undergirding for the political project of colonialism. This promotion of Western coloniser and feminine colonial subject matter by Orientalist artists legitimised the colonial rule as a reflection of Western superiority.
The Colonial Gaze
Here are two examples to better understand how the colonial gaze works. In both Henriette Browne's harem paintings, A Flute Player from 1859 and Dancers in Nubia from 1869, she painted the harem as a place with simple interiors, where women dressed in veils and muslin dresses, and played musical instruments. Would you question authenticity in a painting which includes all these exotic representations? I am sure viewers of this painting would usually be overwhelmed by the beauty and exoticism. However, the reality of women’s experiences and possibilities should not be a primitive and picturesque scene where women enjoy their idleness, as in Browne’s painting. Notice the details of each painting, and rethink what was the intention of the artist when she depicted these?
Henriette Browne, Dancers in Nubia, 1869
In the late nineteenth century, an unauthentic scene depicted in A Flute Player was in a Western coloniser discourse and constructed to please Western viewers. Browne's harem paintings aimed to construct a stereotype of the Orient: that it is primitive and inferior to a progressing Western world. In Dancers in Nubia, the standing female figures perform music with alluring body poses and provocative stares.
Henriette Browne, A Flute Player, 1861. Oil on canvas.
A painting is not only about the visuals in it. To look at a painting closely and examine the purpose of every detail is what viewers need to do in the gallery. It requires some background knowledge to understand the meaning of the painting better. For this painting, the broader political context of colonialism defined the purpose of the Orientalist harem paintings. The case with clothing in both paintings was particularly the Western self-identification of progressiveness. In fact, the drapery white muslin dress such as in the painting The Arab Tale Teller by Horace Vernet in 1833, was inauthentic. The question is: Why would every Arab person wear a white muslin dress in the paintings? Have you ever questioned the documentary reality in Orientalist paintings?
Within the picturesque scene, white muslin dress became the representation of exoticism and gave a sense of ‘primitive-looking’ to the Orient people. One point we can see from the Orientalist paintings is the lack of sense of history. In fact, after the dress reforms of the 1830s, many Turks wore Western dress, so in Orientalist paintings, everyone wearing white muslin dress does not make any sense and contradicts historical facts.
We need to keep questioning ourselves: Is this painting appropriate even though it serves the aesthetic qualities?
Browne's harem paintings were welcomed because they granted the colonial gaze pleasure and a picturesque scene to elevate the West. We can see in Browne's paintings that the female dancer always shows her availability as a passive inferior figure while the superior colonial gaze is invisible.
Every time we view a painting in a gallery or on a website, we should not be distracted by the exotic representations in a painting like The Grande Odalisque, but dig out the artistic intentions of the subject matter. The visual fools its viewers and coats itself with charming details. However, viewers would unconsciously posit their suppositional power over other races and cultures, which is not appropriate.
Rethink Aesthetic Aspect
For those who do not know art history or the historical background of a specific painting, Orientalist paintings are the best way to challenge your eyes and rethink the aesthetic aspects of art and paintings. If a painting is visually charming and attractive, does that make it a good artwork? Keep questioning to form your perspective.
Don’t buy into the ‘realistic’ documentary details in an exotic painting that was painted by an artist who was not from the culture. Female Orientalists, like Browne, populated their paintings by imbuing a false sense of objectivity to the viewer's inquisitive gaze. Visually, when we are viewing a painting, the ownership of the gaze is transformed from the artist to us. This grants the power of control and drives the pleasure of looking. For erotic harem paintings, like La Grande Odalisque, the intention was the interpretation of the feminine subject to please its male viewers. Through examination we know the representation of the harem in Orientalist paintings was a Western invention defined by the broader political context of colonialism.
“Through examination we know the representation of the harem in Orientalist paintings was a Western invention defined by the broader political context of colonialism.”
I encourage you to question paintings that you like. You may find out some facts and other details that you have never noticed. Don’t just be charmed by the beauty of the visuals, because sometimes it is not always true and authentic. Keep questioning and form your own opinion.
“Art is for everyone; you don’t need any previous knowledge or be an art connoisseur. Artworks give you emotions, narratives and history to allow you to challenge your sense and bring up the unconsciousness.”