Dame arriveert in open rijtuig bij oosters paleis 1807 - 1855

Johannes Alexander Rudolf Best created this print, "Dame Arriveert in open rijtuig bij oosters paleis," depicting a woman arriving in an open carriage at an oriental palace. The lack of precise dating invites us to consider the pervasive fascination with the “Orient” that shaped much of the West's cultural imagination during the 18th and 19th centuries. Here, Best presents a European woman transported into an exoticized vision of the East, reinforcing colonial power dynamics through the visual consumption of foreign lands and peoples. The "Orient" becomes a stage for Western fantasies, where gender, race, and class intersect. The woman, a symbol of Western femininity, is paraded in front of an imagined palace, highlighting the power and privilege associated with her identity. How does the depiction of this scene appeal to and reinforce the cultural biases of its intended audience? Consider the narratives we tell ourselves about those who are different from us and who gets to control them.