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Moses Myers House

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With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the Library

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Historic Houses

Located on Freemason St. —

Open Saturday and Sunday

Noon–5 p.m.

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

By Appointment

Tuesday-Thursday

10:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m.

Moses Myers House

The oldest Jewish home in America open to the public as a museum offers a glimpse of the life of an early 19th century merchant family.
More about the house

About the Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

Willoughby-Baylor House

Completed in 1794, this former home now presents a mix of art and artifacts. See what's on view

Located in Norfolk

One Memorial Place,
Norfolk, VA
Get Directions

While You're Here

Visit our Museum Shop
and the Wisteria Cafe.

Perry Glass Studio

A state-of-art facility on the Museum’s campus. See a free glassmaking demo Tuesdays–Sunday at noon. Like what you see? Take a class with us! More about the Studio

Moses Myers House

The home of the first permanent Jewish residents of Norfolk, this historic house offers a glimpse of the life of a wealthy early 19th-century merchant family.
More about the house

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the Library

Weddings & Event Rentals

The perfect place for your big day or special event. Get the details

Take a tour

We offer a number of tours on different topics. More about tours

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Visit one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

About the Chrysler

Our story spans well over 100 years. See where we began, how we grew, and where we're going. Explore our history

News and Announcements

See what's happening at the Museum, read Chrysler Magazine, and find our Media Center. Read now

Location

745 Duke Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-333-6299

Always Free Parking

Get Directions

Third Thursdays

Live art performances monthly.
See the archive

Studio Team

Meet the brilliant minds behind the Studio.
See the team

Studio Assistantship Program

Further your career and join us in Norfolk.
Find out more

The Masterpiece Society

Learn about this innovative group of museum supporters.
Meet the Masterpiece Society

Planned Giving

Help ensure the long-term success of the Museum.
Learn about planned giving

Collections Menu
Excursion of the Harem

Excursion of the Harem

Artist: Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824-1904)
Date: 1869
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
31 × 53 in. (78.7 × 134.6 cm)
Overall, Frame: 47 5/8 × 70 × 6 5/8 in. (121 × 177.8 × 16.8 cm)
Classification: Funerary
Credit Line: Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
Object number: 71.511
Terms
  • Women
  • Boats
  • Waterways
  • Egypt
  • Nile River
  • Black
  • Yellow
  • Violet
  • Mauve
  • Academic
On view
DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas painting depicting a boat traveling across the water. With the help of several rowers, a harem and their Sultan glide across the Nile River on a pleasure boat. The painting uses subtle, delicate tones.

Exhibition HistorySalon, Paris, 1869. (Exhib. cat. no. 1027).
"Art Pompier: Anti-Impressionism," Emily Lowe Gallery, Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York, Oct. 22 - Dec. 15, 1974. (Exhib. cat. no. 46).
"Treasures from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.," Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville, June 12 - Sept. 5, 1977. (Exhib. cat. no. 34).
"Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk," for the benefit of The Chrysler Museum Art Reference Library, Wildenstein & Co., New York, N. Y., April 13 - May 13, 1978. (Exhib. cat. no. 15).
"Eastern Encounters: Orientalist Painters of the Nineteenth Century," Fine Art Society, London, June 26 - July 28, 1978. (Exhib. cat. no. 109).
"French Salon Paintings from Southern Collections," High Museum of Art, Atlanta; Chrysler Museum, Norfolk; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh; and John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota; Jan. 21 - Oct. 23, 1983. (Exhib. cat. no. 34).
"French Paintings from The Chrysler Museum," North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, May 31 - September 14, 1986; Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, November 6, 1986 - January 18, 1987. (Exhib. cat. no. 26).
"American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern Life, 1885-1915", The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, May 10 - July 24, 1994; the Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, TX, August 21 - October 30, 1994; The Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, December 3, 1994 - February 5, 1995; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA, March 12 - May 14, 1995. (Exhib. cat. no. 23).
"Homage to Theo van Gogh," Van Gogh Museum, June 24 - September 5, 1999; Musee d'Orsay, September 27, 1999 - January 9, 2000. (Exhib. cat. no. 61).
"Jean-Léon Gérôme: 1824-1904," Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, October 18, 2010 - January 23, 2011.

Label textJean-Léon Gérôme
French, 1824–1904
Excursion of the Harem, 1869
Oil on canvas

At first glance, Jean-Léon Gérôme’s glassy rendering of Egypt’s fabled Nile River may seem as frozen as an insect trapped in amber. But look again. Gérôme has filled the scene with travelers in motion. While a sultan’s pleasure boat ferries his harem along the river, a camel caravan threads its way along the distant shore and a flock of birds crosses overhead. All the elements are orchestrated perfectly—a consonance of details where, even in motion, everything is put in exactly the right place. One of France’s most admired academic masters, Gérôme prided himself on paintings of extraordinary precision filled with delicate and poetic details.

Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.511

Published References Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya. _Treasures from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr._. Tennessee Fine Arts Center at Cheekwood, Nashville. 1977. No. 34. *See for further references. Eric M. Zafran and Mario Amaya. _Veronese to Franz Kline: Masterworks from the Chrysler Museum at Norfolk_. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum. 1978. No. 15. *See for further references. Mario Amaya. "Contrasts and Comparisons in French Nineteenth Century Painting," _Apollo_ 107: 194. 04/1978: 16-25, ill. Eric M. Zafran, with an introductory essay by Gerald M. Ackerman. _French Salon Paintings from Southern Collections_. Atlanta, GA: The High Museum of Art. 1982. No. 34. *See for further references. Chrysler Museum. _Selections from the Permanent Collection: The Chrysler Museum_. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum of Art. 1982: 60. H. Barbara Weinberg. "The Lure of Paris: Late-Nineteenth-Century American Painters and their French Training," _A New World: Masterpieces of American Painting_. 1760-1910. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts. 1983: Mentioned 25; ill. 26, fig. 8. William H. Gerdts. _American Impressionism_. New York: Abbeville Press. 1984: 19, ill. no. 7. Jefferson C. Harrison. "Nineteenth-Century French Art - Part I," _The Chrysler Museum Gallery Guide_. Norfolk, VA: Chrysler Museum. 1985. No. 13, 6, ill. Jefferson C. Harrison, _French Paintings from the Chrysler Museum_. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1986, No. 26., pp. 51-53; Color Plate No. 26, 120. *See for further references. Gerald M. Ackerman, _The Life and Work of Jean-Leon Gerome_. London and NY: 1986, 226, no. 188. Atsushi Miura. "Le Japonisme au Salon," _Bijutsushi-Ronso (Studies in Art History)_. Tokyo: The Department of Art History, Faculty of Letters, The University of Tokyo. 1988: 80, fig. 11. H. Barbara Weinberg. _The Lure of Paris: Nineteenth-Century American Painters and their French Teachers_. New York: Abbeville Press Publishers. 1991:No. 76, 71 (b/w ill.). Gerald M. Ackerman. _American Orientalists. Acr Édition_. Paris. 1994: 16-18. Jefferson C. Harrison, _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1991, No. 99, 124; Color Plate, 124. Barbara Weinberg, et al. _American Impressionism and Realism: The Painting of Modern Life, 1885-1915_. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1994, 28-29; Fig. 23, 29 (b/w). Franklin Kelly, and others. _American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century_. Washington: National Gallery of Art, distributed by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996, 160, black and white ill. 160. Dianne W. Pitman. "The Figure in the Landscape." _Bazille Purity, Pose, and Paintings in the 1860s_. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998, 138, fig. 87. Chris Stolwijk and Richard Thomson. _The Van Gogh: Art Dealer, Collector and Brother of Vincent_. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and Waanders Publishers, Zwolle. 1999: figure 61, pages 72-73. Gerald M. Ackerman, _Jean-Léon Gérôme: Monographie révisée Catalogue raisonné mis à jour_ (Paris: ACR Édition, 2000), 89, 270-271; fig. 188. Charles C. Eldredge, _Tales from the Easel: American Narrative Paintings from Southeastern Museums, circa 1800-1950_, exh. cat., Southeastern Art Museum Directors Consortium, Columbus Museum, Ga., 2004, 63, fig. 36. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 43, fig. 39. Dominique de Font-Réaulx, _Jean-Léon Gérôme_, exh. cat., Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, 2010, 231-233, cat. 129. Heather Grange, _Write Poetry? I Don't Think So_ (Plymouth, UK: privately printed, 2013) cover, 24. Eric M. Zafran, "Norfolk's Salon Masterworks Shine Again," _Fine Art Connoisseur_, November-December 2014, 51. Markku Valkonen and Pekka Niemela, _Vaelluksia maisemaan-- Taiteen mestarit meren aarella_, (Helsinki: John Nurmisen Saatio, 2017), pg. 42. Lawrence Benaïm, _Orientalism Style_ (New York: Assouline, 2022) 212-213.
Provenance E. Pinkus, New York, 1963; Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. to the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, 1971.
Catalogue EntryJean-Léon Gérôme
French, 1824-1904
Excursion of the Harem, 1869
Oil on canvas, 31" x 53" (78.7 x 134.6 cm)
Signed at left on the stern of the boat:
_J.L. GEROME._
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., 71.511

References: Harrison, _CM_, 1986, no. 26; Gerald M. Ackerman, _The Life and Work of Jean-Léon Gérôme_, London and New York, 1986, p. 226, no. 188.

Like his colleague Bouguereau (no. 87), Gérôme was a standard-bearer of the French academic style, a conservative grand master who carried the hallowed traditions of Davidian classicism into the second half of the nineteenth century. Like Bouguereau, too, he was one of the most influential artists of his day. For a full forty years (1863-1904) he served as a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where his impeccable professional credentials drew generations of students, many of the Americans, to his atelier.
Gérôme achieved his greatest fame as an interpreter of Orientalist subjects (see nos. 76, 88). In the years after 1853 he traveled repeatedly to North Africa and the Near East - he visited Egypt alone seven times - and he devoted more and more of his art to genre images of Arab life. These works offered a more balanced and realistic portrayal of contemporary Egypt and Arabia than had earlier Romantics like Delacroix (no. 76). However, in the clarity and polish of their brushwork - in their careful crafting of detail and draftsmanly precision - Gérôme's Orientalist pictures remained thoroughly academic.
Gérôme made his earliest tour of Egypt in 1856. He spent half of his eight-month visit in Cairo and the other half navigating the Nile, sketching the fabled waterway and its exotic river traffic. Thereafter the Nile became a favored setting for his Egyptian genre pieces, as can be seen in the well-known _Excursion of the Harem_ of 1869, in which a delicate private pleasure craft ferries a sultan's seraglio along the river. Gérôme exhibited the painting at the Salon of 1869, where it was warmly received. The Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, hoped to buy it but demurred when told its price - 30,000 francs. After viewing the _Excursion_, the critic Théophile Gautier marveled at its atmospheric and luminary subtleties:
The boat slips over the clear transparent water, along the misty shore in a sort of luminous fog which produces a magical effect. The bark seems to float at the same time in the water and in the air....the delicate tones of the "land of light" are rendered by Monsieur Gérôme with absolute fidelity.
A recent cleaning of the painting has once again revealed its luminous palette of mauve and violet hues.
The work must also have appealed to the young American Thomas Eakins, who studied with Gérôme from 1866 to 1869 and whose Philadelphia sculling pictures of the early 1870s owe an obvious debt to Gérôme's _Excursion_ and other Egyptian river scenes.

Jefferson C. Harrison, _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. Norfolk, VA: The Chrysler Museum, 1991, No. 99, 124.