CANNES / 'Paintings and Sculptures of Orientalism', organized by Galerie Alhambra was on show at Hotel Majestic in Cannes (South of France). This exhibition aimed to share with lovers and collectors of Orientalist Art, a selection of 42 works of art made by 35 artists (French, Spanish, German, American) between 1860 and 1960.

In 1829, Victor Hugo wrote in the Orientales Preface «Orient has become a global concern.» Orientalism, the attraction of Westerners to the East, then spreads under this name, although its sources are more ancient, back to the writers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

At the beginning, for the artists, the light they discovered was a great inspiration. But they didn't not know well the culture, so the paintings were quite imaginative. Also, artists returned in Europe with a lot of clothes, objects they assembled in their works (like Rudolf Ernst The yatagan to the Sultan). Artists spent more time in the East, and sometimes they lived there like Etienne Dinet, Jacques Majorelle, José Cruz Herrera. So they were familiar with the culture, the peoples etc. Some of them learned Arabic, and accepted Islam, like Etienne Dinet.

Today, their works are evidences of the Orient they liked, observed, studied, interpreted, and sometimes adopted. They present snapshots of that era.

The Highlights from the Exhibition

image Wilhelm Carl Gentz (1880) / Learning the Qur'an in the cave of Jeremiah, Jerusalem, Oil on canvas, signed and dated 'W. Gentz 1880' (lower right), 67.7 x 57.4 in / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra

image Rudolf Ernst (1854-1932) / - The presentation of the yatagan to the Sultan - Oil on panel, signed lower left 'R. Ernst', 39.3 x 27.5 in / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra

image Étienne Dinet (1861-1929) / Young girls dressing, Oil on canvas, signed 'E.DINET' ( lower right), 25.1 x 31.4 in / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra

image Edouard Richter (1844-1913) / Oriental Beauty, Oil on canvas, signed and located 'E Richter Paris' (lower left), 25.9 x 17.3 in / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra

image Josep Tapiro Y Baro (1836-1913) / Children’s Entertainment, Watercolour, signed and dated lower right 'J. Tapiro', 18.8 x 25.5 in / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra

image Otto Pilny (1866-1936) / Evening prayer in the desert, Oil on canvas, signed and dated 'Otto PILNY 1904' (lower right), 36 x 62.2 in / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra

image Antoine Bofill (act_1894-1939/53) / Gilt bronze and white marble, inscribed 'Bofill' on the base. Marked by the stamp of 'Syndicat des fabricants de bronze 1818'. High: 62 cm / Courtesy of Galerie Alhambra


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