The French Orientalist Painters Exhibition: An Immersive Journey into 19th-Century European Visions of the 'Orient'

This exhibition transports visitors to the imaginative world of 19th-century French Orientalist painters like Ingres, Delacroix, and Gérôme. It explores how these artists, fascinated by previously unknown Eastern regions, created romanticized, simplistic, and often stereotypical depictions of the 'Orient' in their studios. Visitors can expect an exciting, immersive journey through fantastical landscapes, mysterious characters, and spectacular architecture.

In the 19th century, the 'Orient' opened up as a new, fascinating world for Western artists, particularly French painters. This exhibition delves into how artists like Eugène Delacroix, Jean-Léon Gérôme, and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, despite working from their Parisian studios with local models, were captivated by the exotic landscapes, unique lighting, vibrant colors, and diverse flora and fauna of these distant regions. The resulting art movement, Orientalism, showcased Eastern countries through a lens that was beautiful yet romanticized, simplistic, and often stereotypical. The experience takes visitors on an exciting, immersive journey through this imaginative 'Orient,' beginning with the travel diaries of Eugène Delacroix. Guests will encounter a world filled with fantasy, mysterious characters, spectacular architecture, desire, and mysticism. They will discover narrow streets, lively souks, beautiful courtyards, and witness geometric patterns come to life alongside sword dancers, belly dancers, and snake charmers, all accompanied by exciting music and spinning turquoise Iznik pottery. The exhibition also includes a grueling crossing of an unforgiving desert, encountering wild animals and traversing scalding landscapes, before finding respite in a green oasis. The journey culminates as Fabrique des Lumières transforms into a Sahara tent, offering a moment of rest before visitors 'wake up' in a 19th-century Parisian salon, questioning if the adventure was merely a dream.