Visual Orientalism: The Ottoman Woman In Visual Art

This article examines the formation of the image of the Ottoman woman in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century European visual art through the theoretical framework of visual Orientalism. The study analyzes the artistic interpretation of the harem theme in French and British painting, the aesthetic and ideological functions attributed to the female body, as well as the influence of East–West cultural interaction on pictorial traditions, drawing upon the theoretical concepts of Edward Said and Linda Nochlin [1]. The article employs an interdisciplinary methodology that combines historical-art-historical analysis with postcolonial criticism.