Les Orientalistes, peintres voyageurs (Les Orientalistes, Vol. 1)

by Lynne Thornton

At the end of the nineteenth century, numerous painters succumbed to the charms of the Orient. Travel to distant lands was easier, and artists brought back voluptuous images filled with sun and colour. This title studies almost 150 painters, from Delacroix to Ziem. It features many lesser known masters and is suitable for collectors.

Genres: History, Art, Art History

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the oldest books focused on orientalist painters of 19 century and I think it is still one of the best and most popular. In addition to this 1983 English edition, it has been also published twice in French and once in English in a smaller "pocket" format. The book has a brief (about 14 pages), but useful introduction to the topic and then covers a good number of orientalist painters devoting two or more pages for each, depending on importance from the author's prospect. For each painter, the book offers and a brief introduction to life and art and shows one or more representative paintings. The plates are printed in good color and on good paper, quite an exception for a book published in 1983! The book really attempts to make the best use of page space to show details: almost all plates are printed one per page and many are printed edge-to-edge, without white border on two sides. Some (fortunately, just a few) are printed across 2 pages. Altogether, the book introduces 65 painters with details and plates and also offers brief 1-paragraph bios of about 80 more painters, with no plates. With this approach, it offers an excellent introduction and great coverage on the topic while also serving as a great coffee table book. If you are interested to see what Orientalism is, this book is a great one to start.