Odalisque 1887

Léon François Comerre painted this 'Odalisque' using oil on canvas sometime around 1887. Here, the artist used a fine-grained canvas as a base to capture the textures of textiles, wall decorations and various objects that adorn the scene. You can almost feel the softness of the cushions, and the coolness of the metalwork incense burner on the table. The way the artist renders the scene gives the impression of a highly tactile encounter with the materials he represents. But this is not just a celebration of making and materials, but also a presentation of a culture as one big decor. It's as though the woman is just one more element in the overall composition, like a vessel or a length of ornamented fabric. The Western male gaze romanticizes the "exotic" culture, turning it into an object of consumption. This painting is not simply a beautiful image, but a lens through which we can examine how cultures are commodified and consumed.