Orientalism and Islamic Architecture: Representation of Islamic Architecture of the Orient in Western Painting During the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and its Interpretation

Author/Editor

Yara Faisal Masri

Date

2004

Language

English

Keywords

Orientalism, Islamic architecture, Western painting, 18th-19th century

Institution

University of Jordan

Advisor

Prof. Salim S. Al-Faqih

Abstract

Orientalism has been defined as the collective body of images created around the notion of an Orient. These images included representations of the Orient in tests, travelogues and Oriernalist paintings.
The Islamic architecture, of the Middle East, has been depicted in Orientalist paintings mostly during the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. These paintings imputed decadence on the architecture of Islam, neglecting its heritage, and depicting eclectic elements carefully chosen to complement the setting of the painting.
This study shows paintings which have been considered important in representing Islamic architecture, and contributed to its further study and interpretation in the West. The architectural elements present in the Orientalist paintings later affected the approach taken by architects who designed the Arab and Islamic pavilions at the World Fairs during the nineteenth century.
The study resulted in an argument based on the Western interpretation of Islamic architecture, whether in representation, or in Western architecture; and how Orientalism not only contributed to the misunderstanding of Islamic architecture by the West, but also to a misleading interpretation of the true Islamic essence in architecture, and the confusion of self-definition in the Muslim architecture, caused by relying on Orientalist images and architectural representation in paintings.