Orientalism: Between fact and fantasy

About the Exhibition

This is the Metropolitan Museum's first exhibition to take Orientalism as its central theme. It explores how the concept of 'the Orient' was formed and reinterpreted during the 19th century, when globalization, colonialism, and imperialism drove encounters between Europe and the Middle East. Spanning from Napoleon's Egyptian campaign (1798) to paintings by Ottoman painter Osman Hamdi Bey, it shows how Islamic art spread to European merchants, collectors, world's fairs, and museums. It emphasizes in particular how the refined technique and visual language of Islamic art influenced the work of figures such as Owen Jones. With more than 40 works, the exhibition explores the intersection and interplay of Islamic and European art.