Orientalism allows us to reveal the beauty and originality of the East in European culture. In painting, this style is reflected in the magnificent works of Orientalist artists. Let’s consider the most iconic masters of oriental themes.

Five iconic Orientalist artists:

1. Eugene Delacroix (Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix).
2. Vasily Vereshchagin.
3. Nasreddin Diné (Alphonse-Etienne Diné)
4. Alphonse-Étienne Dinet.
5. William Holman Hunt.
6. Frederick Arthur Bridgman.

Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863)

Speaking about Orientalists, it is impossible not to mention Eugene Delacroix. He believed that the missing link of civilization should be sought precisely in the East. Delacroix visited Morocco on January 11, 1832, two years after his trip to Algeria. He was then already known as the artist of the paintings: “Dante’s Boats”, “The Death of Sardanapalus” and “Freedom Leading the People”. In his work “Algerian Women” Delacroix uses vivid tachisme. This term means a rejection of objective reality.

Delacroix traveled to the East with Charles de Mornay, the leader of the diplomatic delegation. His support for the Algerian resistance threatened continued French expansion in the West. Eugene Delacroix even managed to enter Arab harems. The port engineer Victor Poirel helped him with this. The term “harem” refers to that part of the house where the female part of the family lived in seclusion. To avoid awkward situations and forbidden relationships, men (even family members) needed permission to enter the women’s section. Delacroix observed the women of the harem from a distance, from the patio or gallery leading to their apartment, through an open door. Using cunning and dexterity, Delacroix managed to create many masterpieces of Orientalism.

Significant works of the author:

• “Algerian Women” (1834).
• “The Sultan of Morocco” (1845).
• “View of Tangier” (1853).
• “A Moroccan Saddles a Horse” (1855).
• “The Smoking Turk” (1824-1825).

Vasily Vereshchagin (1835-1909)

Vasily Vereshchagin is a great Russian master, born into the family of a landowner in the city of Cherepovets. It is interesting that he is considered the main Orientalist in Russian painting. Vereshchagin worked not just in the Orientalist style, but in critical Orientalism. Vereshchagina painted a series of paintings “Barbara”, which brought the artist fame as an Orientalist. With this series of works, Vereshchagin practically eradicated stereotypes about Central Asian savagery.

At the age of 8, young Vereshchagin was sent to the junior cadet corps, and in 1853 he was transferred to the St. Petersburg Naval School. It was during his military service that young Vereshchagin became seriously interested in drawing and began to devote more time to it. Vereshchagin studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and entered there against the will of his parents. In 1863, he left the Academy and went to the Caucasus to paint from life.

Vasily Vereshchagin is also known for his war paintings, depicting war in all its horror and cruelty. Of particular note are his pictorial studies of Turkestan and Asian life, canvases on Anglo-Indian history. His paintings were exhibited in major cities of Russia and abroad (London, Paris, Berlin, New York, etc.). Vereshchagin did not hesitate to display elements of Orientalist culture at European exhibitions: fabrics, weapons, musical instruments, and even stuffed Central Asian birds and animals. This once again proves his skill as an orientalist.

Significant works of the author:

• “They are triumphant” (1872).
• “After Fortune” (1868).
• “The Rich Kyrgyz Hunter with a Falcon” (1871).
• “Uzbek woman in Tashkent” (1873).
• “The Arab on a Camel” (1870).
• “Street musician. Dutarist” (1870).

Nasreddin Diné (Alphonse-Etienne Diné) (1861-1929)

Alphonse-Étienne Dinet, born in France on March 28, 1861, was an artist of the Orientalism popular at the time. Coming from the middle class of the Second Empire, he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris and then the Julian Academy, where he studied under Bouguereau (William-Adolphe Bouguereau). Diné began creating his modernist ethnographic paintings in 1881 while studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

Before his death in Bou Saada in January 1930, Diné received a silver medal for his work at the 1889 Universal Exhibition.

Significant works of the author:

• “The Snake Charmer” (1889).
• “Bather by Moonlight” (1902).
• “Girls’ Games” (1895-1898).
• “Rausha” (1901).
• “Portrait of Slimane” (1910).

William Holman Hunt (1827-1910)

English artist William Holman Hunt was known for his deeply naturalistic works, reflecting both themes of modern urban and rural life, as well as religious themes. Hunt was born into the family of a warehouse manager. He worked as an office clerk before being admitted to the Royal Academy in 1844. Around this time he met Millet. From 1845, Hunt exhibited at the Royal Manchester Institution, the Royal Academy and the British Institution. In September 1848, together with Rossetti (Dante Gabriel Rossetti) and Millet, he formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

Hunt left England for Egypt in January 1854, spending two years inspired by the Holy Land. The main painting produced during this period was The Scapegoat (1854-55).

In 1865, he married Fanny Vaux, with whom the artist left for the East. He returned to England alone (the artist’s wife died tragically as a result of malaria). Hunt was elected a member of the Watercolor Society in 1869 and visited Jerusalem again that year. He last visited the Middle East in 1892.

William Hunt was awarded the Order of Merit by Oxford University and received an honorary doctorate in civil law.

Significant works of the author:

• “Street Scene in Cairo” (1856).
• “The Finding of the Savior in the Temple” (1860).
• “An English family converted to Christianity protects the preacher of this religion from the persecution of the Druids” (1849-1850).
• “Shame Awakened” (1853).
• “The Shadow of Death” (1870-1873).
• “The Finding of the Savior in the Temple” (1854-1860).

Frederick Arthur Bridgman (1847-1928)

Frederick Arthur Bridgman was an American artist from Alabama. Bridgman became one of the most famous and respected artists in the United States, as well as one of the most talented Orientalist artists in the world. He began drawing in New York at the American Bank Note Company. He later went to Paris and became a student of Jean-Leon Gérôme. A trip to Egypt in 1873-1874 led to Bridgman’s photographs of the East attracting immediate public attention. He is most fascinated by views of North Africa, in particular Egypt and Algeria, as well as scenes from the history of Ancient Egypt.

In the winter of 1873-1843, he made a second trip, visiting Egypt in the company of the American artist Charles Sprague Pearce. He wrote a fascinating story about his travels in North Africa and the winter seasons he spent in Algeria. Bridgeman’s great success is crowned by three major paintings depicting life in the ancient Near East: “The Funeral of a Mummy”, which was bought by James Gordon Bennett, owner of the New York Herald; “Consolation of the Assyrian King” and “Procession of the Sacred Bull Anubis. In 1907, Bridgman was made an officer of the Legion of Honour.

During the First World War, Bridgman suffered financial losses, partly due to gambling debts, and was forced to sell his luxurious studio on the Boulevard Malherbes in Paris. Bridgman retired with his second wife, Mart Jaeger. He spent time in a beautiful house in Lyons-la-Forêt in Normandy, where he lived until his death in 1928.

Significant works of the author:

• “Interesting game”. “Oriental Interior” (1882).
• “Funeral of the Mummy” (1877).
• “Entertainment of the Assyrian King” (1878).
• “Siesta” (1878).
• “Circassian woman” (1881).
• “Laziness” (c. 1880).
• “Sewing” (c. 1880).
• “The Veiled Beauty from Constantinople” (c. 1890).