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Collections

Lalla Essaydi
Reclining Odalisque2008

Not on view
Triptych color photograph, a figure in script-covered garments lies horizontally across three panels, face visible in the rightmost panel with Arabic text overlaid on skin and fabric
Color photograph with visible film border markings; two bare feet and lower legs resting on a surface, both the skin and surrounding background densely covered with overlapping Arabic calligraphy in dark ink.
Color photograph on Kodak film stock showing a draped textile with vertical striped pattern against a wall and floor surface, all densely covered with overlapping Arabic-script calligraphy in brown and black ink on white ground.
Color photograph with visible film border and Kodak edge markings; a reclining figure rests their head on a pillow, gazing at the camera, with Arabic calligraphy covering the background, bedding, pillow, and the figure's skin and clothing, blending body and surface into a single textured field.
Artist or Maker
Lalla Essaydi
Morocco, active United States, New York, born 1956
Title
Reclining Odalisque
Date Made
2008
Medium
Three chromogenic prints mounted to aluminum and protected with Mactac luster laminate
Dimensions
Panel (a-c) Panel): 59 1/2 × 48 × 1 1/4 in. (151.13 × 121.92 × 3.18 cm) a-c) Overall: 59 1/2 × 144 × 1 1/4 in. (151.13 × 365.76 × 3.18 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds provided by Art of the Middle East: CONTEMPORARY
Accession Number
M.2012.19a-c
Classification
Photographs
Collecting Area
Art of the Middle East: Contemporary
Curatorial Notes

Lalla Essaydi’s art frequently depicts the reclining female form to address issues of identity from her own unique perspective as an
artist, a woman, an Arab, a Muslim, and a Moroccan. Reclining Odalisque takes its subject matter and title from nineteenth century
European Orientalist paintings, which portrayed a fantasized Western notion of a harem slave (or odalisque), shown nude
or partially clad and presented for the male gaze. Essaydi weds the traditionally feminine medium of henna decoration and the
rich practice of calligraphy to inscribe the model and her surroundings with her own words, situating the subject amidst the
anxieties she sees in her culture. The woman stares defiantly outward, challenging the viewer to see her beyond the discourses
that surround her. Born and raised in Morocco, Essaydi received her formal training in France and the United States,
where she now resides.

Selected Bibliography
  • Komaroff, Linda, Stephanie Rouinfar, Sandra Williams, and Sarah Mostafa Ahmed. Women Defining Women in Contemporary Art of the Middle East and Beyond. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2023. https://archive.org/details/women-defining-women (accessed January 12, 2024).