1838
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Young Eastern Woman is a 1838 unspecified by Friedrich von Amerling, a Biedermeier work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
A young woman sits in a dark room, wrapped in a red-and-gold robe with a white turban on her head. The light falls softly on her face and hands. Amerling called her an “Eastern woman,” but she’s not from the East—she’s just dressed in Turkish clothes. The rich fabrics and warm glow show how European artists loved painting exotic scenes, even if they’d never seen them. To see more paintings like this, look up the subject austria, mod euro.
Although the artist provocatively titled this painting Young Eastern Woman, it is obvious that the model is not Asian, but merely wears a Turkish costume. The rich fabrics and glowing light create an exotic atmosphere, revealing a Western fascination with "Oriental" images and themes.
One can see in Amerling's sensitive and beautiful portrayal why he was well known and admired for his portraits.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Friedrich Ritter von Amerling (14 April 1803 – 14 January 1887) was an Austrian portrait painter in the court of Franz Josef.
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