Women and French Orientalist Art, 1860-1968 : Cross-Cultural Contacts and Western Depictions of Difference

Only one female artist, Henriette Browne 1829-1901, has been recognised in the canon of French Orientalist art. Beyond Browne, existing scholarship has not given due consideration to the impact of female art on French Orientalism; as a result women artists have been omitted from the Orientalist canon in France. Through empirical research, Mary Healy has databased primary documents relating to eighty-six women artists whose works of art can be placed in the canon of French Orientalism between 1860 and 1968. Many of these women, such as Marie Lucas-Robiquet (1858-1959) and Jeanne Thil (1887-1968), were highly successful artists in their day; yet, today, little to nothing is known about their artistic contributions. Forgotten French Women Orientalist Artists 1860-1968: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Western Depictions of Difference is the first full-length study dedicated to these women artists and the analyses of their Orientalist works of art. In addition to building on existing Orientalist scholarship, the database of French women Orientalists forms the basis of new theoretical frameworks which cross the disciplines of art history, culture studies and representation, colonial history, gender studies and post-colonial theory. Utilising an interdisciplinary approach in the interpretation of women's art, Healy not only aims to re-evaluate the field of French Orientalism, but also to contribute new art historical findings concerning east/west cross-cultural dialogues at the intersection of gender and cultural difference.