Gérôme and the Lure of the Orient

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Gérôme and the Lure of the Orient

“The Orient was always my most frequent dream.”
— Jean-Léon Gérôme

This exhibition features paintings by Jean-Léon Gérôme and a selection of decorative objects that explore the intersection of Eastern and Western art production. Like many artists of his time, Gérôme was drawn to the Orient, a historic term for the lands of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia Minor.

Between 1856 and 1880, Gérôme took regular trips to Egypt, Palestine and Turkey. There, he made many artistic studies of the people and places he encountered. Back in Paris, he transformed his observations into polished pictures that earned him great acclaim.

An Albanian Smoking by Jean-Léon Gérôme — Jean-Léon Gérôme, French (1824-1904). *An Albanian Smoking*, ca. 1881. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 28 7/8 inches. Courtesy of Terence and Katrina Garnett. Photograph Courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc. © 2007.