Brooklyn Museum: American Art: An Interesting Game

08:42 09/19/2008

Hi E-Fretez, Thanks for asking. I spoke with one of our curators here and this was her response: Both words are correct, it depends on usage: "Orientalism" refers to the 19th-century phenomenon of Western artists being fascinated with the East and depicting Eastern subjects; "Orientalist" can be used as a noun (for example, to describe an artist who practices Orientalism) or and adjective (for example, "He painted Orientalist subject matter ... "). Given her response, I think using both when tagging would help since it means people could search on either term.

posted by

shelley

16:00 09/17/2008

Should we use 'Orientalist' or 'Orientalim' ? There are different paintings with each tag.

posted by

E_Fretez

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An Interesting Game

Everything in this scene—the clothing, architecture, and physical types of the people—suggests that Frederick Arthur Bridgman was presenting a slice of reality witnessed by him on his many trips to North Africa. In actuality, the painting was executed in Bridgman's Paris studio, which even had the lattice window and lounge shown here. Orientalism—the taste for Near Eastern subjects—was strong in the late nineteenth century, especially in the United States, where this painting was exhibited in 1881 and acquired by the noted Brooklyn art collector George I. Seney in 1882.

Artist: Frederick Arthur Bridgman, American, 1847-1928
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dates: 1881
Dimensions: 37 3/16 x 57 11/16 in. (94.4 x 146.6 cm)
Signature: Signed upper right: "F. A. Bridgman / 1881"
Collections: American Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in American Identities: A New Look, Expanding Horizons, 5th Floor
Accession Number: 08.220
Credit Line: Gift of George D. Pratt in memory of Mrs. Charles Pratt
Image: Overall, 08.220_glass_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Collections: American Art: An Interesting Game