Sometimes accused of portraying an Arab and Islamic world that is caught up in the past, the orientalist paintings currently on show at the National Museum of Modern Art instead tell a story of immense change, writes Vinous Fouad The orientalist paintings currently on show at the National Museum of Modern Art in Cairo take visitors back to mediaeval times, preserving manners and customs, modes of dress, architectural features and glimpses of interior worlds that have long gone by. Long before the camera was invented and long before Arab artists adopted a modern style of painting themselves, the European orientalist painters travelled the Arab and Islamic world, observing and recording. What they captured on their canvases, sometimes with stunning realism, are images of a world that would otherwise have been lost. Who were the orientalist painters, and what inspired their work? One place to look for answers is the Museum of Modern Art, which is hosting the present exhibition until the end of Ramadan. "Orientalist" is the term commonly used to denote westerners who took an interest in the Arab and Islamic arts during the colonial period, mainly in the 19th century. As a result, both their views and the images they made have been branded ethnocentric and prejudiced. Scholars of orientalism have divided the phenomenon into three phases: colonial orientalism, which lasted until perhaps 1960; post-colonial orientalism, which then began to pay particular attention to the Arabic language and to Arab literature; and neo-orientalism, the latest phase, which perhaps started with books like The Syro-Aramaic Reading of the Koran, written under the pseudonym of Christoph Luxenberg. Distinct from orientalist painting, orientalist scholarship began in Italy and Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries, later moving northwards to France and England in the late 17th century. Most European countries today have academic departments dedicated to the study of the Arab and Islamic world, and these are the inheritors of the orientalists. The early orientalists themselves, on the other hand, were a hodgepodge of artists, writers, travellers and military men. Some inspired respect and awe, while others were viewed with suspicion and mistrust. According to the French scholar Maxime Rodinson, the word "orientalist" itself appeared in English for the first time in 1779 and was introduced into French in 1838. The current exhibition, "Masterpieces of the Orientalists," which opened on 28 July, includes 34 paintings from the collection of the Alexandria Museum of Fine Arts, mostly by 19th-century European artists. The work of these artists offers insights into our own history, as well as that of Europe, since the interest the orientalists took in the customs, habits and practices of the Arab and Islamic world is revealing not just about that world, but also about European perceptions of beauty and culture. Walking through the paintings on display is like walking back into history, a journey into a time when houses were built of stone, walls were made of carved wood, ceilings were painted, and everything was draped in the richest of materials. The orientalists depicted the lives of the great in detail, but this is not the only interest of their paintings. Instead, we also get a glimpse of the lives of the ordinary people of the time, the workers and merchants, the craftsmen and entertainers, the men and women who worked for a living and made do with simple things. The orientalists were particularly fascinated by the life of the streets in Arab cities, something they portrayed with entrancing vividness. Take, for example, the painting called "", a painting of a street scene in Upper Egypt. The dress of the two girls in the painting tells us much about how lives, and styles of dress, have changed in just under a century. Salwah Hamdi, director of the Museum, chose this painting for the main poster of the exhibition because of its powerful portrayal of rural life in the past. Instead of a brochure or catalogue, visitors to the exhibition are given postcard reproductions of the paintings. This was intended as a way of making the art accessible to the general public, Hamdi said. What I found particularly interesting about the exhibition was the vivacity of the life shown in the streets, something which was apparently not seen as being in conflict with the public's religious nature. In some paintings, we see religious buildings dominating the skyline, while in others we see people singing and dancing, riding horses and playing games. One of the most evocative paintings in the exhibition is "The Imam's Lesson" by the French painter Jean-L��on G��r�ïme (1824-1904), who travelled widely in the region until he was 80. Known for his romantic take on Arab and Turkish society, G��r�ïme painted with the meticulousness of a scientist, sketching extensively, taking photographs, and consulting with experts to make sure his paintings were realistic down to the last detail. To recreate the scenes shown in his paintings accurately, G��r�ïme is known to have collected Arab furniture, textiles and antiques. He painted carpet-sellers, chess players, dancers, mosques, and saddle-sellers, and his paintings are now part of the history of the region, documenting lifestyles that are now gone while capturing a mood that is still identifiable today. The orientalists have been accused of portraying an Arab and Islamic world that is caught up in the past, incapable of change, and clinging to its inherited customs. Yet, their work offers an invaluable insight into history. In fact, it complements our knowledge of the region, telling us not a story of stagnation but one of immense change. The present exhibition is a rare opportunity to explore a period of Egyptian life that has now all but disappeared. It sheds light on some of our present dilemmas and perhaps on our future as well. The painters have left us more than beautiful canvases. They have left us a record of life and a mirror in which to contemplate our modern selves.
