Orientalists: Western Artists in Arabia, the Sahara, Persia and [Hardcover]

Kristian Davies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 2006

From the Great Pyramids to the Taj Mahal, the Middle East and India have for centuries lured Westerners to travel and have inspired their architecture, literature, music and fashion. The Orientalists pursues the richest era of this fascination, the mid to late 19th century, when American and European artists traveled and painted throughout the Holy Land and India. The highly cinematic images they created suggest a great influence on modern visual culture. Travel, art, geography, cultural perception, and social and military history are all woven through the text. An extensive introduction provides a thought-provoking perspective on the evolution of Orientalism and the rise of Islam and its ever-changing relationship to the West. It is within this context that the author introduces us to Orientalist paintings. The author is well aware of September 11, 2001 and its implications on the book which was being researched and formulated in his mind before the horrific events unfolded. He does not pretend

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Americans and Europeans have a dual perception of the land that stretches from Morocco to India. Much of it Muslim, for the past 1,000 years no region has inspired more fear for the West, yet none has been a greater source of wonder and a stronger influence on Western art and artists. Contemporary events have darkened that perception, yet from the Great Pyramids to the Taj Mahal, the Middle East and India have for centuries lured Westerners to travel and have inspired their architecture, literature, music and fashion.

The Orientalists pursues perhaps the richest era of this long tradition of fascination for the Near and Middle East—the mid to late 19th century, when painters from America and from every country in Europe traveled in and painted the vast cities and peoples of North Africa, the Holy Land, Persia and India. Many of these regions had only recently become accessible to the West. The first in, the first to see – the painters, known as "Orientalists" created a rich body of work of a world that was rapidly changing, during the last precious years before modernization.

The Holy Land, North Africa, Persia, India - these are places whose history is filled with both beauty and pain. The artists painted many sides that captured this duality—the dignity of faces, and the powerful color and beauty of architecture, calligraphy and clothing, but also the brutality of poverty and the tragic outcomes of violence.

The cinematic appeal of the images is undeniable. Hugely popular in their time, the Orientalists had an enormous influence on early film makers like D.W. Griffith and their recreations of Babylon and Biblical times. A perusal of the images in this book shows their deep influence on many aspects of contemporary visual arts, a kind of prototype of many 20th-century favorites, from the "Star Wars" films, "Lawrence of Arabia", "Gladiator" and the many films set in the desert milieu, to the "Dune Chronicles," Frank Frazetta and "The Lord of the Rings" illustration tradition.

Featuring over 300 images, culled from 45 different institutions in seven different countries, many of these pictures have rarely been seen publicly since their creation a century and more ago. Having both traveled and lived in the region, author Kristian Davies approaches this often misunderstood genre of art from a fresh perspective. The book is designed to be a primer, a fresh new approach and redefinition of the genre. Richly illustrated with full color pictures, many with second details, it is an art history book that puts the artwork first. Davies uses a selection of the finest pictures in the genre to illuminate the life and customs of this extraordinary part of our world. The text is intended for the general reader, exploring diverse subjects like deserts and pilgrimages, villages and bazaars, faith and spirituality, and the West’s enduring fascination with the harem and hookah.

Written in a personal, engaging tone, The Orientalists emphasizes both the extraordinary talent of these artists and the beauty and nobility of the worlds they traveled in. It will show a reader that perceptions have not always been as uniform or simple as "us" and "them."

A unique, indispensable book, the ultimate work on the subject, The Orientalists: Western Artists in Arabia, the Sahara, Persia & India will be of interest to lovers of both fine arts and illustration, readers of history, movie fans and travelers alike.

About the Author

Born in Hong Kong and raised in America, Kristian Davies is also the author of "Artists of Cape Ann: A 150 Year Tradition." While working as an art historian, he has written for "Art & Antiques," "American Art Review" and "Antiques and the Arts Weekly." Educated at Northwestern University and the Paris III La Nouvelle Sorbonne, he traveled extensively througout the Mediterranean and his lived in the Middle East.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Laynfaroh (August 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0975978306
• ISBN-13: 978-0975978306
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #845,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unmatched Colorfulness, August 19, 2005

By 

Michael Billmann (Germany) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Orientalists: Western Artists in Arabia, the Sahara, Persia and (Hardcover)

In the last years i've read many books about the academic painters of the 19.century. Masters, who belong to the greatest of mankind,
fall into oblivion due to the unquestionable admiration of dilettante garbage in museums and the media.
Kristian Davies gave us with this art book a small jewel at hand, an important contribution for the improvement of the situation.
Contrary to many authors of other art books, most of them troublesome to read and see the end of the book, Davies, with his easy, flowing, personal and knowledgeable writing style, captivate his readers.
He weaves facts with his own experience and shared his love for oriental paintings, which were a great help to understand these countries, not only at his journeys. So he describe the impressing moments, when he saw a foreign area and culture for the first time, and miracly it appeared familiar to him, due to the great works of the despised Oriental painters.
Beside topic chapters concerning the roads and market places, faith or the representation of the woman, there are individual chapters about particular important masters.Not only relatively well-known ones , such as Gerome or Repin, are represented , but also largely unknown artist such as Vereshchagin or Bauernfeind. The German Gustav Bauernfeind, for sure one of the most ingenious German painters of all times, is not only almost unknown in Germany. His partly tragic life has, like Kristian Davies shows, large similarity with that of the painter Gauguin. Gauguin is pampered by the critics, Bauernfeind ignored, because he belongs to the academic painters. A tribe allegedly unable to inspire their pictures with life. That's ridiculous and wrong, as you can see by the enormous selection of the large sized, detailed and colorful pictures in this book.
This book deserves, as first art book, 6 stars!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unvelievable, Amazing Book! A Treasure!, April 5, 2005

By 

J.H. Tudor "Art History Scholar" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Orientalists: Western Artists in Arabia, the Sahara, Persia and (Hardcover)

This book absolutely blew me away. I manage a prestigious museum's bookstore in a major US city and have seen every single art history book that's come on the market in the last five years. I can honestly say that this book definitively sets a new standard for color reproduction and readability [it's easily the most accessible art book I've ever seen.] It contains hundreds of eye-popping color reproductions [and detail studies] of paintings that define the genre, some never having been seen by anyone for over a century. Plus, it's definitely NOT boring [like some other art books I could mention.] Author Kristian Davies has created a vibrant new hybrid of art history, personal experience, reflection and scholarly review. This book sets the bar so high for art books that it may never be surpassed. Highly recommended. If I could give it 6 stars, I would! And WHO is this new company Laynfaroh? I expect more great things from them in the future.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Tradition of Painting that Died Out, April 22, 2006

By 

Marco Antonio Abarca (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Orientalists: Western Artists in Arabia, the Sahara, Persia and (Hardcover)

The Orientalist painters were contemporaries of the Impressionists. Whereas most educated people know of Manet, Monet, Degas, Renoir and the other Impressionist Masters, the Orientalist Masters are today almost unknown. Their obscurity is almost Darwinian in its completeness.

Kristian Davies like a physical anthropologist has gone back in time and dusted off the layers of dust that cover the Orientalist's paintings. What we discover are a number of painters with a vituoso technique and a solid command of the Western painting tradition. The high quality of the brush work, vivid colors and attention to detail are simply astonishing. There are few painters today that can match their technical skills.

After the September 11th terrorist attacks, these first artistic contacts between the West and the Orient take on special interest. Davies bravely enters into Edward Said's Orientalist debate. He uncovers an artistic vision that is much more complicated than a simple we versus them.

This is a beautiful book with very high production values. There are over 300 images of American, European and Russian Oreintalist masters. This book is highly recommended.