A Bedouin Caravan at the Feet of the Sphinx 

Cesare Biseo painted this view of a Bedouin Caravan at the Feet of the Sphinx in the late 19th Century. It’s a perfect example of Orientalism, a Western artistic and academic trend that exoticized the Middle East and North Africa. Biseo depicts a romantic vision of nomadic life against the backdrop of ancient Egyptian monuments. The Sphinx, with its serene expression, looms over the scene, dwarfing the human figures and their camels. The pyramids in the background further emphasize the timelessness and grandeur of the landscape. Created during a time of European colonial expansion, images like these served to reinforce Western perceptions of the East as mysterious, alluring, and ultimately subordinate. They tell us less about the reality of life in Egypt and more about the Western fantasies projected onto it. To fully understand this work, we can consult travel literature, colonial records, and the writings of contemporary critics to gain a deeper understanding of the cultural dynamics at play. Art, after all, is always shaped by its social and institutional context.