Re-Orientations: Europe and Islamic Art from 1851 to Today
Ed. by Sandra Gianfreda
Munich, Hirmer, 2023
Texts by Alix Agret, Wilko Beckmann, Emily Christensen, Nadine Engel, Gwenaëlle Fellinger, Karl Gerstner, Sandra Gianfreda, Elvira González Asenjo, Negar Habibi, Jessica Hallet, Lucina Llorente, Sarah McGavran, Nadia Radwan, Mary Roberts, Katherine Rochester, Alban von Stockhausen, Ariane Varela Braga.
German edition: Inspiration Islam – europäische Künstler*innen im Dialog mit islamischer Kunst und Kultur, Munich, Hirmer, 2023.
The art and architecture of the Islamic world strongly influenced the development of Western modernism. Some 200 works from the mid-19th century to the present day illustrate this fascinating cultural exchange. Beguiling examples of fine and decorative art reflect the diversity of this lively transfer.
During the 19th century, Europe became caught up not only in Orientalism, but also in a real “Islamophilia”. Important collections of Islamic art were established. With the approach of modernism the view of these “foreign” influences changed. Artists of the avant-garde and masters of applied art sought inspiration for their own new style in the wealth of formal language and colourfulness characterized by Islamic art. Positions of contemporary art to current Islamic discourse round out this multi-faceted publication.