In the Bezestein, El Khan Khalil, Cairo, by John Frederick Lewis

In the Bezestein, El Khan Khalil, Cairo

John Frederick Lewis

c.1860

Watercolour, wash, graphite under drawing

33.5 x 26 cm.

Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery

Emily Weeks wonders why Lewis used himself as a model here — for this is undoubtedly the artist, in the local costume that he adopted during his long stay in Cairo. Could it have been, as she suggests, because he wanted to comment on the morals of the marketplace, indeed, of the whole capitalist system? [Commentary continues below.]

Image kindly provided by the Watts Gallery, for purposes of reviewing their exhibition, linked below. [Click on the image to enlarge it and mouse over the text for links.]

Lewis's carpet-seller certainly looks formidable. So who might come off worst in any future transaction? Several possibilities come to mind: the artist himself, at the mercy of public opinion and market forces; the carpet seller whom he represents, a middleman caught between the demands of craftsman and consumer; or the buyer, who might not be capable of judging the quality and worth of what is on offer. Looking at the painting from such an angles, Weeks sees Lewis's work as "part of what is arguably the most sophisticated intellectual project in British Orientalism" (23). On the other hand, of course, Lewis might have used himself as a model simply for convenience, as many artists did. In that case, showing off his costume would not have been such an "intellectual project" after all. The Victorians did love dressing up! — Jacqueline Banerjee

Related Material

Bibliography

Weekes, Emily M. "Cultures Crossed: John Frederik Lewis and the Art of Orientalist Painting." book">The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting. Ed. Nicholas Tromans. London: Tate, 2008. 22-32.

Created 14 August 2019