John Gilbert

JOHN GILBERT (England, 1817 -1897).
"Orientalist fantasy".
Oil on canvas.
Presents restorations and jumps in the painting.
Signed in the lower right area.
Restored.
Measurements: 34 x 45 cm, 43 x 54 cm (frame).

The painting "Orientalist Fantasy" by John Gilbert, is inscribed within the wide and multifaceted phenomenon of the pictorial orientalism of the XIX century, an aesthetic current deeply intertwined with the dynamics of the European imperialism and the imaginary construction of the exotic "Other". In this work, Gilbert depicts a scene starring Arab warriors wearing turbans, figures that condense the Western imaginary of the Islamic world as a space of mystery and splendor. The loose and vibrant brushwork, close to impressionist postulates, endows the scene with an atmospheric luminosity that contrasts with the theatricality of the composition. For Orientalists, the "Orient" is not so much a geographical place as a symbolic space onto which European longings and fears are projected.

John Gilbert was born in Surrey, self-taught, his only formal instruction was under the guidance of George Lance. Gilbert's technical prowess, however, earned him the nickname "the Scott of painting". He was best known for the illustrations and woodcuts he produced for the Illustrated London News. Gilbert was initially apprenticed to a firm of estate agents. He was unable to enter the Royal Academy schools, but mastered watercolor, oil and other techniques. From 1836 he exhibited at the Society of British Artists and at the RA from 1838. Patron Thomas Sheepshanks and artist William Mulready suggested that he learn wood engraving. He designed an impressive number of wood engravings (over 2000) for The London Journal. He also produced many book illustrations, of almost every major English poet. He became president of the Royal Watercolor Society in 1871 and a year later, in 1872, he was knighted.