(8 Oct 2019) "The Prayer" by Frederick Arthur Bridgman hangs on the walls of the British Museum.
Its subject is distinctly Islamic - but the artist was not.
The painting is part of a new exhibition called Inspired by the East: How the Islamic World influenced Western Art.
It covers five centuries, exploring how Western artists have been influenced by the Islamic world.
The journey begins in the 15th century, and moves to a peak of Orientalism in the 19th century, when Western artists keenly visited and depicted the Middle East and North Africa, through to the modern day with Middle Eastern artists reflecting on Orientalism itself.
"This is always a really relevant topic with East-West relations, and we hope that by showing it as a broader art movement we'll inspire dialogue," says Julia Tugwell, project curator for Inspired by the East.
The exhibition includes objects from Europe, North America, the Middle East and North Africa, which range from ceramics and jewellery to contemporary art.
"There are early interactions, but they were more in the way of diplomacy and warfare and the exchange of goods," she says.
"Whereas the 19th century was actually a trend, it was a movement, to actively understand and depict the East."
The exhibition has been created in collaboration with the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, and includes objects from the Kuala Lumpur-based institution, in their first appearance outside of Malaysia.
At its core is an examination of the tradition known as Orientalism, the representation of the East in Western arts and which has often blurred the lines between fantasy and reality.
Orientalist works have come under heavy criticism in the post-colonial era.
But there is now a reported rise in popularity of such artworks, particularly from buyers in the Middle East.
"There is a heightened interest in the topic at the moment and it is perhaps a way of looking back from the Middle East at their own heritage, even if it is through the eyes of Westerners, it is an interesting form and angle of documentation of their culture," says Tugwell.
The exhibition concludes with a 21st-century perspective, through the eyes of four female artists from the Middle East and North Africa who question and subvert the idea of Orientalism in their work.
"In the Western context a lot of these 19th century or Orientalist paintings have fallen out of fashion, they pander to certain stereotypes, perhaps, and they're difficult images for a lot of galleries and major collections to have on their walls," says Olivia Threlkeld, project curator for Inspired by the East.
"So I think in readdressing these things from the Eastern context we're starting to ask richer questions about actually why are these so collectable in this sort of context and also why are contemporary artists revisiting these themes, why is that pertinent today?"
'Inspired by the East' runs from 10 October 2019 – 26 January 2020 at the British Museum.
The exhibition will open at the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia from 20 June - 22 October 2020.
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