Arab Woman
1845–88
Medium
Black chalk, blue, yellow and white pastel, shell gold, with graphite
Dimensions
Sheet: 18 5/8 × 11 7/16 in. (47.3 × 29 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Harvey Salzman, 2020
Accession Number
2022.25.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
Gustave Boulanger's *Arab Woman*, created during his active years from 1845 to 1888, exemplifies the 19th-century French with Orientalism—a movement where European artists romanticized and exoticized Middle Eastern and North African cultures. Boulanger, a skilled academic painter and draftsman, often depicted such subjects with meticulous detail, drawing from travels and popular imaginations of the "Orient." This intimate drawing captures the poised elegance of its female subject, reflecting broader European trends in portraying "exotic" women as symbols of mystery and allure. Rendered on a m...