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Catalog Data

Maker:
Lalla Essaydi, born 1956, Morocco  Search this
Medium:
Chromogenic print on paper mounted to aluminum
Dimensions:
H x W: 152.4 x 121.9 cm (60 x 48 in.)
Type:
Photograph
Geography:
Morocco
Date:
2010
Series:
5/10
Label Text:
The series Les Femmes du Maroc is Essaydi’s response to 19th-century Orientalist fascination with and portrayal of North African women. Each photograph in the series derives from a specific Orientalist painting. Les Femmes du Maroc, for example, plays on Eugène Delacroix’s Femmes d’Alger.
Essaydi has taken Delacroix’s depiction of women in the sequestered space of a harem and removed all recognizable decorative elements. By positioning the Moroccan models to replicate Delacroix’s composition and inserting her own handwritten narrative, Essaydi appropriates and undermines notions of the harem and Islamic cultures as exotic and remote. She dismantles the image yet embraces the aesthetics on which it is founded, challenging viewers to discern the complex layering within her work.
Description:
Warmly-toned chromogenic print of a dozing dark haired woman whose skin is covered in henna inscriptions from head to toe, and wrapped in and lying upon white fabric that is also inscribed with arabesque script in brown henna.
Exhibition History:
African Mosaic: Selections from the Permanent Collection, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., November 19, 2013–August 12, 2019 (installed April 6 to October 4, 2016)
Lalla Essaydi: Revisions, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., April 11, 2012-February 25, 2013
Content Statement:
As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
Image Requests:
High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
Topic:
Writing  Search this
female  Search this
Credit Line:
Museum purchase
Object number:
2013-10-1
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
(c) 2010 Lalla Essaydi / Courtesy Edwynn Houk Gallery, New York
See more items in:
National Museum of African Art Collection
Data Source:
National Museum of African Art
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ys7022a034e-141a-455f-951d-7bce4bb7b799
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:nmafa_2013-10-1