Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant’s ‘The Favorite of the Emir’ was painted around 1879. The work, part of the permanent collection of Washington’s National Gallery, is on loan to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, which is hosting the exhibition ‘Marvels and Mirages of Orientalism,’ devoted to the work of Benjamin-Constant and other artists. Many curators and critics, though drawn to the formal beauty of the paintings, approach this period of art history with caution, mindful of the racial and sexual stereotypes that Orientalist artists used to evoke North Africa and the Middle East. United States Naval Academy Museum …  Benjamin-Constant’s ‘The Pink Flamingo’ (1876) shows less fantasy than some other Orientalist works. Curator Ms. Bondil, referring to the elaborate costumes, describes it as ‘ethnographic.’ The work is part of the Montreal museum’s permanent collection. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts …  Benjamin-Constant’s ‘Head of a Moor’ (around 1875) is on loan to Montreal from the collection of U.K. jeweler Laurence Graff. A number of works in the show, says Ms. Bondil, come from private collections. Benjamin-Constant traveled in Andalusia in the early 1870s. Known for its Moorish architecture, the south of Spain was then considered part of the Orient. Mr. Laurence Graff …  Benjamin-Constant’s enormous 1878 painting, ‘Interior of a Harem in Morocco’ is on loan to Montreal from a museum in Lille, in the north of France. Over 17 feet long, the painting creates ‘an immersive experience,’ says Ms. Bondil. The artist claimed to have gotten his inspiration from a brief glimpse of a real Moroccan harem, however many of the decorative details, like the carpets and furniture, probably come from elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East, she says. RMN-Grand Palais/Philipp Bernard …  This April, Sotheby’s will hold a special auction devoted to Orientalist works in London. Ludwig Deutsch (1855–1935), an Austrian artist based in Paris, painted ‘The Palace Guard,’ a favorite Orientalist motif, in 1893. The work has a presale estimate of $1.2 million to $1.8 million. Sotheby's …  Ludwig Deutsch captured a scene of daily life in Cairo in this 1890 painting, ‘In the Madrassa.’ The work will be auctioned at Sotheby’s annual Orientalist sale, to be held this year on April 21. The pre-sale estimate is around $893,000 to $1.2 million. Sotheby's …  Orientalist artists often made sketches and other preliminary studies during their travels, but then worked on paintings back in their home studios. Unlike many artists of the time, Italian Orientalist painter Fausto Zonaro had a studio in Istanbul, then known as Constantinople. ‘Bayram’ or The Celebration, shows a Turkish festivity. The 1899 work, offered for the first time on the open market at Sotheby’s upcoming Orientalist sale, has an estimate of around $520,000-$595,000. Sotheby's …  Sotheby’s established its annual Orientalist auction in London in 2012. The following year saw a sensational sale, when Ludwig Deutsch’s ‘The Offering,’ shown, sold for $3.2 million--still a record for the artist. The 1897 work, which had a presale estimate of only around $744,000-$1.04 million, is admired for the level of detail in the costumes and architecture. Sotheby’s …
Orientalist art is having something of a comeback—at museums and among a new wave of North African and Middle Eastern collectors, who view the works as part of their heritage.