Ever since its discovery by traders and seamen in the Early Modern age, the world of Islam has been an important source of cultural inspiration for Western civilisation. Geographically so near, culturally so different, the countries of the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa have influenced both the Oriental vogue of the baroque period and also the popular Oriental genre in the fine arts. At the same time, the mysterious aura of the Orient has repeatedly served as a romantically idealized counterpoint and escape route for European fantasies and longings. From the early turquets to the glory of the 19th century to the Tunisian images of August Macke and Paul Klee, this elaborately appointed volume presents the history of Oriental images in painting and follows the traces of a phenomenon that remains fascinating even today. AUTHOR: Gerard-Georges Lemaire completed his education at the Paris Institute of Art and Archeology and at the Applied School of Higher Studies. SELLING POINTS: ? The history of Oriental images in Western painting from the Renaissance to the present ? Individual chapters devoted to important artists including Eugene Delacroix, Pablo Picasso and Wassily Kandinsky ? Extensive articles on special themes such as the image of the harem and the Oriental fantasies of the Impressionists ? Numerous, largely full-page colour photographs of the artworks discussed in the texts ? Comprehensive appendix with biographies of the artists, glossary and index 120 illustrations
