Pool in a Harem

Bath in a harem (original title: Une piscine dans le harem) by the French painter Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) is a classic work of the 19th century. Characterized by the epoch of Romanticism, the style of the painting is mystical and sensual. The exotic of the Orient is represented by harmonious colors and soft lighting conditions. The painting was realistic and rich in detail, but the impression of the painting is clear and not overloaded or verznkelt.

The scenery is an oriental bath of the last century. At the center of the painting are two women of occidental appearance, one of them naked and the other wrapped in white cloth. The unclothed woman lies on a, decorated with Oriental pottery, marble elevation and turns the viewer to her back. The woman wrapped in the scarf sits barefoot on an oriental rug. Both listen with interest to a person in oriental dress and with dark skin who bends down to the women and holds two Arabian water pipes in his hand. Whether the person from the Orient is a woman or a man, the observer can not say clearly. The dark blue robe does not allow any precise conclusions about the sex and the viewer sees the face only from the side.

In the background, the viewer of the painting perceives more women. Some are also undressed, others wrapped in white cloths. Some women in the background observe what happens in the front of the bathroom on the carpet, but the women in the background can not be seen exactly. Gentle rays of light fall through the ceiling and illuminate parts of the back of the bath, other parts are blurry in the semi-darkness.

Bath in a harem is a realistic yet mystical painting that incorporates feminine nude painting and transports the sensuality of the Orient, through bright and clear colors as well as detailed painting.

---

Pool in a Harem by Jean Leon Gerome
interior · female · nude · orientalist · hookah pipe · black · turban · women · islamic architecture · tiles · baths · arch · pipes · palace · palatial · north african · bathing · swimming · bath · toilet · State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia / bridgemanimages.com