Seeing Is Believing: The Art and Influence of Jean-Léon Gérôme

Critical, contemporary approaches to G r me's Orientalist, fetishizing paintings, once revered in the 19th century

Published with Qatar Museums.

In the 19th century, the art of French painter Jean-L on G r me (1824-1904) offered European audiences an apparently realistic and intimate view of local life in the Middle East, North Africa and the Ottoman Empire. As the 20th-century art world embraced other styles, these same qualities marked G r me's art as antimodern and entirely forgettable. The tide turned in 1978, when G r me's scintillating painting of a young, unclothed Arab snake charmer appeared on the cover of Edward Said's Orientalism. This reintroduced the artist's name to the public but also served to negatively politicize G r me's representations along the lines of Said's argument. The paintings and drawings by G r me featured in this exquisite volume, in addition to examinations of his biography, influences and historical context, present G r me as a product of his time, a stylistic pioneer and something of a riddle waiting to be solved.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 8836659322
• ISBN13: 9788836659326
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Silvana Editoriale
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.7" x 10.9"