cold weapons and Orientalism

ariel · 18th July 2020, 12:34 AM

On top of that, oils were not painted "on the spot".
Painters made more or less detailed sketches with the live models, but painted the final drafts in their studios in Europe. It would be virtually impossible to convince some Nubian guard to pose immobile for several hours day after day, to account for the changes in daylight etc. In their studios they had collections of oriental things, including weapons, and just selected the flashiest examples from the hoard.
Thus, the weapons in the finished painting had nothing to do with the real stuff. By the same token, the dresses, their colors etc were painted according to the painters' artistic whims.

And I am not even talking about orientalist painters being allowed to visit harems and see naked wives of local honchos dancing or taking a bath:-)

18th July 2020, 12:34 AM	#4
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	On top of that, oils were not painted "on the spot". Painters made more or less detailed sketches with the live models, but painted the final drafts in their studios in Europe. It would be virtually impossible to convince some Nubian guard to pose immobile for several hours day after day, to account for the changes in daylight etc. In their studios they had collections of oriental things, including weapons, and just selected the flashiest examples from the hoard. Thus, the weapons in the finished painting had nothing to do with the real stuff. By the same token, the dresses, their colors etc were painted according to the painters' artistic whims. And I am not even talking about orientalist painters being allowed to visit harems and see naked wives of local honchos dancing or taking a bath:-) Last edited by ariel; 18th July 2020 at 05:35 AM.