WILLIAM HOLMAN HUNT'S 'STREET SCENE IN CAIRO': A VICTORIAN GLIMPSE INTO THE ORIENT
Updated: 4 days ago
William Holman Hunt painted Street Scene in Cairo after living in the city during his first journey to the Middle East in 1854. The picture shows an everyday lane in Cairo with a Pre-Raphaelite eye for detail, and it belongs to a group of Victorian paintings made from direct observation.
What does Street Scene in Cairo show?
The painting is also known as The Lantern-Maker's Courtship. Hunt worked from sketches made in Cairo, so the buildings, clothing and hard midday light are carefully observed, in the Pre-Raphaelite manner of painting every detail with the same sharpness.
Why did it take Hunt so long to finish?
He began the work in Cairo in 1854, but the finished version dates from 1861. Hunt was a slow, painstaking painter, and he often returned to compositions years later. The painting is now in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
Zocine Art Design is an independent studio that prints classic paintings as wall art. See this print at the Zocine Art Design shop.
William Holman Hunt's painting "Street Scene in Cairo" captures the Victorian era's intrigue with Orientalism, reflecting the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's attention to detail and cultural representation. This work is a significant piece for those interested in the cross-cultural influences in art. Discover more about this artwork here.
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Frequently asked questions
Where is Street Scene in Cairo?
In the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
When was Street Scene in Cairo painted?
It was begun in 1854 and finished in 1861.
Is it an Orientalist painting?
It belongs to the Victorian interest in the Middle East, but Hunt based it on direct observation rather than imagination.
Zocine Art Design is an independent studio that prints classic paintings as wall art. Keep reading: WILLIAM HOLMAN HUNT'S 'THE SCAPEGOAT' (1854): A STUDY IN SYMBOLISM AND NATURE · The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood Explained Through Seven Paintings · The Pre-Raphaelites: How Millais, Rossetti, and Burne-Jones Changed Victorian Painting
More on the movement: Pre-Raphaelite Paintings: 5 Key Works and the Brotherhood Behind Them
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