Light of the Harem c. 1880

Editor: We are looking at "Light of the Harem," painted by Frederic Leighton around 1880 using oil paints. The opulence is pretty obvious. The way the light drapes over everything makes it all seem very theatrical. What catches your eye about this piece? Curator: Oh, the Orient! A fever dream of textures and light! Leighton wasn't exactly going for historical accuracy, was he? He was crafting a fantasy, an intoxicating vision fueled by Romanticism's insatiable hunger for the 'exotic.' Notice how the girl is almost levitating and the way she seems so indifferent, floating off, in another dimension... Editor: Do you mean how this depiction seems, well, a little...exploitative? Curator: Exploitative is such a loaded term, isn't it? But it raises a point worth questioning, right? But I see that Leighton and other artists of his time found inspiration in other cultures and I always find myself asking, how much does the exoticising gaze romanticise, and how much does it flatten or diminish a culture? What do you think? Editor: I see what you mean. It’s a complex feeling; both alluring and slightly unsettling. Curator: Yes. Art shouldn’t give us easy answers, but ask bigger questions. Even beautiful and complex paintings can prompt discomfort – perhaps they should? Editor: This conversation's given me so much to think about, that's for sure! Curator: Excellent. Maybe paint our own harem? One full of thought!