Oriental cavalry scene-Initials, Circa 1900

Decamps Gabriel Alexandre  

A Great Master of Orientalism:
Decamps revealed Orientalism at the 1831 Salon, establishing himself as an essential reference. The 1831 Salon marked a turning point in the history of Orientalism. For the first time, the public discovered the everyday Orient through sincere, realistic works inspired by a painter's travels. Decamps' works, especially "The Turkish Patrol", with its subjects and strong contrasts of light and shadow, immediately established him as the leading figure in Orientalism for years to come. Henri Focillon observed, "These delightful images of a world that Romanticism had glimpsed through the splendors of the "Itinerary" are now powerfully entrenched in French painting by Decamps' forceful style. From now on, the Orient will be one of the lasting fascinations of our masters."

Théophile Gautier compared Decamps' role as a discoverer of the Orient to that of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who "discovered" nature: "In the nineteenth century, Mr. Decamps discovered the Orient. One could say that before him, these sun-drenched lands hardly existed in art."

Maxime Du Camp acknowledged Decamps' considerable influence on painters, likening him to a "Christopher Columbus of the Orient." His influence was evident in works like Delacroix's "Convulsionists of Tangier", and is also reflected in the works of Fromentin, Gérôme, and most Orientalist artists.

"Despite the abundance of exotic art, Decamps' work remained the definitive reference until quite late," wrote Christine Peltre. "It was the most accessible and matched the popularity of "One Thousand and One Nights". This impression was not limited to painters." Indeed, when Le Corbusier first encountered the Orient in Constantinople, Decamps' example immediately came to mind.

Decamps Returns the Bible to the Orient
Historically, biblical scenes were often set in nearby European landscapes: Tuscan scenes for Florentine paintings, and northern landscapes for Flemish and Dutch art. With classicism, Italian scenery became the ideal, even when stylized. The Holy Land was paradoxically separated from the Orient, then unknown to painters.

As the acknowledged founder of Orientalism, Decamps returned the Bible to the Orient. He balanced two ambitions: being recognized as a history painter while gaining widespread admiration as an Orientalist. His religious works were set in severe, majestic Eastern landscapes, often bathed in light: "Joseph Sold by His Brothers" (1839 Salon), "Samson Fighting the Philistines" (1839 Salon), "Joshua Stopping the Sun", "The Story of Samson" (1845 Salon), "Eliezer and Rebecca" (1850-51 Salon), and "Saul Pursuing David".

Decamps avoided the anecdotal elements typical of Orientalism, aware that they were inappropriate for religious art. His landscapes were believable yet stylized and powerful, with figures often small and placed in the background. What mattered most was the sense of evocation, transporting the viewer to a captivating biblical Orient.

Bruno Foucart highlighted Decamps' pivotal role in the renewal of religious painting. Following Ingres, who inherited Raphael's legacy, and Delacroix, heir to Veronese, Decamps, as Rembrandt's heir, opened a third path in religious painting, the boldest and most innovative of his time. "In this context, Decamps is truly the founding father of Orientalism; he immediately demonstrates the limited value of exact exotic descriptions, relying instead on impression; he sets the limits of a new historical painting that is more evocative than descriptive."

Decamps infused landscapes with a spiritual quality, removing unnecessary descriptive elements, sometimes approaching abstraction. What remains is the Orientalist emotion and a sense of the sacred.

A Pioneer of Realism
"Decamps loved life in its most familiar aspects, enjoying landscapes, animals, and the lives of humble people [...] In this way, he continued Géricault's work and foreshadowed Millet's."

"The generation of artists between 1830 and 1840 was filled with those striving to free themselves from the literary and historical influences of Romanticism and the academicism of classical artists, seeking to depict the contemporary life of humanity. This desire to return art to its true path, to make it express the forms and aspirations of the modern world, can be felt from the beginning of the century. But even without referencing Delacroix, Géricault, Gros, or David, it is clear that Decamps, and those following him, embodied a wave of artists deeply moved by the fermenting ideas of that period, culminating in the democratic upheavals of 1848," analyzed Léonce Bénédite.

A Major Figure of His Time

Henri Gervex, 1889, Petit Palais, Paris.

Adolphe Moreau (1800-1859), private collector and friend of Decamps' brother Maurice-Alexandre, created a systematic catalog of Decamps' work during the artist's lifetime. It included original prints, reproductions of all kinds—paintings, watercolors, pencil and charcoal drawings, twenty etchings and crayon works, hundreds of lithographs, and wood engravings. Eugène Prosper Leroux, a contemporary, successfully reproduced Decamps' works in lithographic form.

Though he did not always win the favor of exhibition juries, Decamps was well-received by the public. His genre scenes were especially popular commercially. He maintained strong relationships with private collectors, art lovers, and merchants who admired his work and dealt directly with him, such as the English watercolorist Arrowsmith. His patrons included the Duke of Orleans. Most sketches had pre-determined buyers, and his public sales were always highly anticipated events that excited his fans. However, despite receiving most honors and recognition available to artists, Decamps received only one official commission, "Job and His Friends", which he was unable to complete due to health issues.

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