Along The Nile 

Edwin Lord Weeks painted this scene of the Nile in the late 19th century. His canvas, like many by European and American artists of the time, reflected the West’s fascination with North Africa and the Middle East. Weeks was one of many artists drawn to what was perceived as the exoticism of these regions. The composition of the scene, its colors, and the human figures were all of interest to Weeks, who made a career out of his orientalist subject matter. But this aesthetic interest in the Global South conveniently ignored the realities of colonial domination and the power dynamics at play. What social and economic systems made it possible for Weeks, an American, to simply set up his easel on the banks of the Nile? Historians examine travel logs, photography, and other artworks of the period, to reveal the complex social and political conditions under which works like this were produced. Only then can we understand the art of the past as an active agent in the history of cultural exchange.