Delacroix's The Women of Algiers

Eugène Delacroix, Women of Algiers in Their Apartment, 1834, oil on canvas, 180 × 229 cm (Musée du Louvre)
speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

[@carlberg7503]

I'm amazed at how much depth Harris and Zucker squeeze into 4 minutes--color, composition, history, critical theory. Amazing. Thanks.

[@dumoulin11]

The close up shots reveal so much of how the artist placed his colours and worked them together. Thank you for that.

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Admirable obra !! . Admirable video !!. Muchas gracias Smarthistory.

[@summerbreeze9576]

Yes!! I love this painting

[@ArtHistorywithAlder]

So much packed into four minutes. You guys do an amazing job!

[@unreal_taxi]

Another banger thanks guys

[@kolaxx7183]

0:25 big geographic mistake here. Algeirs capital of Algeria is not located in the west of the country but in the center, in reality you point Oran

[@oodean1]

Thank you

[@rotterred991]

I was hoping you might address flochetage; do you address it in another video? Thank you.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

We don't directly, though we do mention his work in broader discussions of color theory. You might also be interested in our essay on his work at Saint-Sulpice: smarthistory.org/delacroix-sulpice/

[@rotterred991]

@@smarthistory-art-history Thank you!

[@qalaphyll]

great

[@Sasha0927]

I was almost touched by the "fantasies" of one culture being artistically romanticized by another, but then the ugly details of ignorance kinda ruined that for me, lol. The only thing worse is that these views persist into modernity when we've had so many excuses to know better. It is such a lovely piece, though. It was compelling to that 1830's Parisian audience and to me today. I'd love to stand before it and slowly appreciate the beauty of it.

[@brooklynbabydoll718]

Just like Delacroix was thinking about the contrasts of the light n shadow hues, the contrast of the one dark skinned woman vs the three colorless women is what makes this Delacroix so intruiging to look at. Its his most famous work of art and the only one featuring this particular concept.

[@ikrambart9731]

It is rather strange for the french to claim that they colonized Algeria to bring civilisation and culture.

[@retromodernism1799]

Another fabulously rich & rewarding account of a stunning art work. Thank you !

[@clumsydad7158]

people always quick to judge ... slower to learn ,,, #orientalism

[@yedek2958]

please add turkish subtitles to your videos!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

We would love to add translations, unfortunately YT removed the community translation function.

[@yedek2958]

@@smarthistory-art-historywell thank you for answering :/

[@barbarazielinska8968]

W spuściźnie Delacroix Godny największej uwagi jest jego dziennik.Podobnie jak romantycy niemieccy na przełomie XVIII i XIX wieku i on chętnie snuł rozważania na temat różnych zagadnień Artystycznych. Prowadził dziennik przez całe życie: rozpoczął od księżycowego krajobrazu,a skończył wołaniem o Piękność Sztuki.

[@Kevin-kf9ct]

1:09, "a culture to the French that didn't progress the way things did in Europe" - well, that's actually true, it didn't. The reason why the Ottoman Empire was in relative decline by this period was that it was only marginally adopting the industrial and political reforms that Western Europeans were. This is hardly a problematic observation, the Ottomans themselves were quite aware of it culminating in the Young Turks movement of the early twentieth century which explicitly tried to address the very problem. And of course Ataturk in the 1920s saw the humiliation of Turkey by the breakup of the Ottoman Empire as directly due to this and explicitly reformed by extreme measures such as adopting Latin script and banning traditional forms of dress. In 1834 this relative decline had already been in progress for a hundred years, and arguably since the high point of the siege of Vienna in 1683.

[@cometmoon4485]

There's a world of difference between technological advancements, like electricity and railroads, and cultural changes, like wearing suits and writing in the Latin alphabet. Mustafar Kemal's "reforms" had nothing to do with the development of his country. It was simply an attempt to kiss the asses of European elites. The man was pathetically obsessed with Western Europe.

[@Kevin-kf9ct]

@@cometmoon4485 The man was obsessed by Western Europe because Western Europe has been kicking Ottoman ass for 300 years at that point. Kermel's reforms had everything to do with breaking the mentality that has lead to that decline. Take the adoption of the Western Alphabet - something explicitly done to facilitate trade and cutural exchange with the west. Certiainly you can argue that Kermel imported some things that could have been avoided, but from Kermel's perspective it wasn't possible to disentangle the essential from the window dressing and he did a superb job of nation building. There's a reason why Ataturk's image is still venerated across Turkey 100 years later, and it isn't because the Turks are sneering at him.

[@bekanimal]

@@Kevin-kf9ct Kemal