Visions and Revisions of the Authentic North Africa: Art from Oriental and Occidental Perspectives (2010)

Undergraduate: Isabella Archer

Faculty Advisor: Ellen Welch
Department: International & Area Studies

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This presentation explores why traditional paintings of North Africa (and specifically the works of nineteenth-century French painter Eugene Delacroix) often constitute authentic representations of North African culture for Eastern and Western artists and audiences. A multidimensional investigation of the interdisciplinary dialogue surrounding art and identity is integral to exploring the many visions and re-visions of “authentic” North African culture. Three thematic questions emerge: who are the objects and what are the objectives of traditional and potentially Orientalist paintings? How do identity politics affect the work of post-modern artists from North Africa rejecting the Orientalist stereotypes and traditions of European painters? And what do purchases of art, commercial and avant-garde, say about what is popular or accurate? I begin by discussing Delacroix’s paintings of Morocco and Algeria, and the real and perceived authenticity of these works. Next, I study the effects of Delacroix’s “authentic” paintings on artists of European and North African origin. Finally, I explore marketing traditional cultural experiences to visitors as authentic and the ways in which both Moroccans and tourists literally buy into these ideas. The enhanced knowledge and recognition of the myriad depictions of North Africa proves critical to understanding both the biography of art objects representing North African and the implications of our production and consumption of art and culture.