The Arab

Here you can see one of Louise De Hem's earliest pastel sketches, a portrait study of an Arab.

Practice piece

The sketch is signed at the top and dates from the period 1890-1891. Louise De Hem was living in Paris at the time to complete her training as an artist. She took classes at the renowned Académie Julian. This sketch is therefore probably a practice piece. It shows the preference for pastels that Louise De Hem developed in Paris. Pastels would remain a favourite medium throughout the rest of her career.

The studios at the Académie Julian followed a fixed pattern. All female students worked together in one large room, each individually on their assignment. This usually involved sketching from a live model. The best works were then hung on the wall as examples for the rest. Unfortunately, we cannot determine whether the Arab ever received this honour.

A fascination with the East

Together with other works, this sketch illustrates the fascination with the East that existed at the end of the 19th century, a favourite subject for many artists. It often involves depicting the East through Western eyes. It is therefore certainly not a realistic representation of what life was like in the Orient at that time. This fascination mixed with fantasy is known in the art world as Orientalism.