Fata Morgana

This thesis examines the impact of the depiction of people on the hammer prices at auction for works by the famous Orientalist Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904). The study situates Gérôme in the broader context of Orientalism, which as an art movement boomed during the 19th century. During which it depicted the Middle East through a Western lens. This thesis traces the origins and evolution of Orientalism and explores how Western artists, such as Gérôme, either travelled to the Middle East or relied on second-hand sources. While Gérôme travelled to the near East and Egypt, his works still fuelled the Occidental fantasy about the Orient. Mainly because he placed untruthful scenes in a setting that highly reflected reality. These scenes the Orientalists created range from all sorts of varieties. Scenes depict everyday life, natural landscapes, but most popularly the harem and its odalisques. This approach has been extensively criticised in previous literature, as it depicts the Middle East and its people, especially women, as passive. The untruthful depiction in Orientalism highly influenced the vision the Western audience had of the Middle East, and became a means to justify Western imperialism in the region. The depiction of people in Orientalism shapes the cultural perceptions of the Middle East, but also the market value of the works. Employing a cultural economics approach, this thesis employs an hedonic regression to determine what variables about the depiction of people in the works of Gérôme has a significant effect on the hammer prices of the paintings. In order to execute this analysis, a dataset was created. In the dataset, auction results have been collected from ArtPrice, after which the paintings were coded. Coding was done based on art historical literature about Orientalism. The research reveals that authenticity of the painting, luxury of the clothes and accessories of the prime character, lavishness of the scene, skin colour of the main female character, a passive female character, hair in an updo, red hair, and an unveiled face have a significant positive effect on the hammer price of a painting by Gérôme that was auctioned during 2004-2024. Conversely, indirect eye contact or the city in which the painting was auctioned have a negative effect on the hammer prices of the work. However, the thesis does have some limitations, as the dataset employed is relatively small and exclusively focuses on paintings by Gérôme. Despite these limitations, the thesis still contributes to the already vast field of literature on Orientalism by providing empirical evidence of how the depictions of people in Gérômes Orientalism influences the hammer prices of these paintings. The research underscores the need for critical assessment of Orientalist art, its historical context, and its lasting impact on the art market and cultural perceptions today. Structured in five chapters, the thesis provides an in-depth examination of existing literature, research on hammer prices and market values of visual arts, and new evidence on the depiction of people in these artworks.