A theory developed by Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said in his influential 1978 book Orientalism. Said effectively redefined the term “Orientalism” to mean a constellation of false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward North Africa and the Middle East. Those assumptions, Said argued, are manifest in the literary and artistic products of Western Europe and America in the 19th century, including the visual arts. Video here.

John Frederick Lewis. And the Prayer of Faith Shall Save the Sick. Oil on panel. 1872. Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT.