A Heroine Florine of Burgundy 1877

Gustave Doré made this engraving, A Heroine Florine of Burgundy, in 19th-century France. The image draws on medieval romances of knights, ladies, and battles. It’s an orientalist fantasy of the Crusades and the battles between Christianity and Islam. Doré presents a female warrior in the thick of combat. He references a romanticized past when the institutions of knighthood and chivalry played a central role in European culture. The picture is filled with drama and violence. It references both Christian and Islamic cultures through its warring figures. This imagery became powerful in France as it was consolidating its empire in North Africa. Doré’s work reflects the rise of nationalism and colonialism. Historians can contextualize this engraving by looking at medieval literature, the rise of orientalism in nineteenth-century art, and France’s colonial projects in the Middle East and North Africa. Close attention to its historical context reveals the image as more than a romantic illustration. It is a cultural product deeply embedded in the political tensions of its time.