Portret van Marie-Thérèse Bourgoin als Roxelane in Les trois Sultanes 1823 - 1824

Alexandre-Marie Colin made this print of Marie-Thérèse Bourgoin as Roxelane in Les trois Sultanes, using etching and line engraving. The print allows us to consider the phenomenon of Orientalism in 19th century France. Roxelane was a Ukranian slave who rose to become the wife of Suleiman the Magnificent in the Ottoman Empire. The image of Bourgoin, a French actress, as Roxelane is not so much an attempt to represent Ottoman culture as an appropriation of it. The print appears to be based on a theatrical production, so it's important to consider the dynamics of the stage. What does it mean for a French audience to see their own performers in the guise of Ottoman figures? The print would have circulated in a robust print market in France. To understand this print better, one could research the performance history of 'Les trois Sultanes' and the phenomenon of 'Turquerie' in French theatre and decorative arts. The image offers insights into French society's fascination with and projection onto the 'Orient'.