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Indepth Arts News:
"The Allure of the East: Islamic Decorative Arts and European Orientalist Paintings"
1999-10-03 until 1999-11-28
Brooks Museum of Art
Memphis, TN,
USA United States of America
Rich in history, the lands of the Near East have produced magnificent
decorative arts
prized by collectors throughout the world for centuries. Textiles,
metalworks, pottery and other
forms have displayed the brilliant mastery of ornaments which has blossomed
under the
penetrating influence of Islam in these lands. The Touma Collection,
assembled by Syrian
emigres Drs. Joseph and Omayma Touma, includes a number of outstanding
examples
representing the timeless artistic traditions that exist within the region.
Complementing these pieces are works by European artists who were
fascinated with the
culture of these lands during the 19th century. At that time, many artists
attempted to capture the
essence of lands that were considered exotic in custom and belief, often
resulting in romanticized
images that failed to present a true picture of the region's culture and
people. The Touma
Collection thus offers a unique look at the region from two perspectives.
One bearing the
indelible mark of an ideology that exists within the culture, and the other
reflecting views of an
alien culture by outsiders.
Islamic craftsmen developed great skills in the art of calligraphy, a
central feature in the
ornamental designs applied to the objects they made. The Arabic alphabet,
because if its
inseparable connection with the Koran, was utilized throughout the Islamic
world to decorate and
invigorate objects, ranging from ceramics to textiles. In addition to
calligraphy, pure ornamental
forms, consisting of geometric, floral and botanical designs were utilized
in the swirling,
intertwined abstract forms that became known in the West as arabesque. The
Touma Collection
features outstanding examples of decorated metalwork, pottery, books,
weapons, furniture,
textiles and other objects which utilize these wide-ranging decorative
techniques.
Orientalist paintings continued to be popular among European artists
throughout the 19th
century, especially those realist painters who had been trained in the
ateliers of academic painters
such as Jean Louis Gerome. Genre scenes which portrayed everyday life in
the region became
very common. Achieving an authentic picture of the area became a goal in
the works of many of
these artists. The Touma Collection contains many fine examples of these
genre paintings, most
of which were formerly in the collection of Malcolm Forbes. These works
attempted to represent
a documentary portrait of life in the Islamic world, and although they were
certainly affected by
the colonial attitudes of the artists, they nevertheless offer an important
record of encounters
between divergent cultures.
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