Egyptian girl c. 1877

Jean-Léon Gérôme painted this image of an Egyptian girl, a beguiling mix of realism and fantasy, sometime in the second half of the 19th century. The painting is of a woman of color, but was made by a white European man. The image is called ‘Egyptian Girl,’ but was made by an artist who was part of the French Orientalist movement. Thinkers and artists have considered the history of that movement – how Egypt and other places were colonized, and how people from those places were often seen as exotic, erotic, and othered. The image is not really about one woman, but the West’s view of an entire region. Art historical journals, books, and museum archives can help us better understand the context in which this painting was made, and what it might mean today.