Orientalism is the term used for the depiction and imitation of the cultures of North Africa, the Middle East and the Ottoman world by Western artists, designers and writers, particularly during the nineteenth century. In art it describes paintings of bazaars, mosques, desert scenes and interiors, and in the decorative arts it covers furniture, metalwork, ceramics and textiles inspired by Islamic design.
Interest grew after Napoleon's campaign in Egypt and expanded with travel, trade and colonial expansion. French painters such as Jean-Léon Gérôme and Eugène Delacroix, and British artists including John Frederick Lewis and David Roberts, created influential images, while the Moorish style appeared in smoking rooms, billiard rooms and conservatories, complete with carved fretwork, brass lamps and tiled surfaces. Spelter and bronze figures of Arab traders and musicians were also popular. Today the best Orientalist paintings are keenly contested at auction, and decorative pieces remain widely collected. The movement is also studied critically, since many works presented a romanticised or stereotyped view of the cultures they portrayed. In interiors, Orientalist pieces add warmth, pattern and a sense of nineteenth-century travel.
