Massacre Of Chos Research Paper

The world of the “exotic” and strangeness is an inherently interesting subject matter among people. Fascinations with the “other” world are depicted in poems, novels, literary descriptions and art as an attempt to understand, romanticise or exploit another culture. The Napoleonic expedition to Egypt from 1798 to 1799 brought forth a heightened interest among artists to explore the world of the Oriental and spurred a torrent of “Orientalists” which became a pervasive force in 19th Century Western art. An “Orientalist” is rather a broad term to describe artists who either portrayed an oriental theme or used the oriental as a subject matter, whether or not the artist has travelled and experienced the foreign lands or have stayed within the boundaries
By romanticized I mean the images are from a subjective perspective, appealing to the imagination of the artist, and provoking emotions through the spectators with the use of exaggeration or partiality. The Massacre of Chios is a response from Delacroix to an actual event in 1822 during the Greek’s struggle for independence from the Ottomans. The Turkish troops took revenge for the rebellions by killing 20,000 innocent people on the island of Chios while selling the rest to slavery despite the fact that a vast majority of people living on the island of Chios did not participate in the revolt against the Turks. Though Delacroix represents an actual event in history, the scene itself is imagined to appeal to his own understanding and interpretation of the event and to appeal particular emotions from the viewer. The Turkish troop is characterized as the savage, villainous instigators of violence and war. For example, the Turkish soldier rearing a horse on the right appears to be merciless as he forcefully captures a Greek woman and ties her to the end of his horse. The Greeks, on the other hand, are in the forefront and confronts the viewer, displaying a sense of victimization in their posture and gaze. They lie in heaps; seemingly huddle together for comfort from the terrors of the massacre. Their stares seem to be blank, projecting apathy and helplessness to their situation. The viewers are compelled to feel sympathy for the victims as they lay waiting, exhausted and hopeless, for their terrible fate, and feel horror and disgust at the brutality of the