The Orientalists. Ingres, Delacroix, Gérôme... L'Atelier des Lumières

In the 19th century, the gates of the Orient opened for Western painters drawn by the mysteries of distant lands. Dazzled by the light of the Deep South, revealing the reliefs of arid landscapes and the colors of spectacularly patterned architecture, the Orientalists Delacroix, Gérôme, Ingres and other major names of European expression, invited us on a veritable pictorial expedition to a... Show more

In the 19th century, the gates of the Orient opened for Western painters drawn by the mysteries of distant lands. Dazzled by the light of the Deep South, revealing the reliefs of arid landscapes and the colors of spectacularly patterned architecture, the Orientalists Delacroix, Gérôme, Ingres and other major names of European expression, invited us on a veritable pictorial expedition to a new, exotic and bewitching world of the dreamed-of Orient.

Delacroix's travel diaries open the story, plunging you into the heart of an itinerary teeming with the play of light and shadow, the scent of spices, the sound of oriental instruments and unprecedented moments captured on the spot. Then it's on to other great names - Constant, Frère, Vernet, Gérôme, Guillaumet, Belly, Richter and Dinet, among others - to set the scene for an inspiring elsewhere that they hope will be both marvellous and luxurious.