Art Focus Lecture | The Art of Oriental Rugs and Their Representation in Western Art

Oriental rugs represent a cross between art and crafts. During the Renaissance, images of oriental rugs became prevalent in western paintings. In some instances, the name of the artist came to identify the rug. And long after these original rugs had disappeared, their images survived in the works of art. In the first part of the presentation, we will discuss rugs as an art form focusing mostly on Anatolian carpets, which usually appear in western art. The second half of the presentation will discuss images of art in the works of Hans Holbein, Gentile Bellini, Jan van Eyck, and more, and in modern times, in numerous Orientalist paintings and the work of Mary Cassatt, Henry Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and others.

Herant Katchadourian, MD, is Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Human Biology. During his fifty year career at Stanford, he has taught over 20,000 students and has received ten university awards—more than anyone else in the history of Stanford. He has also had a distinguished career as an administrator having served as Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Studies and as the Founding President of the Flora Family Foundation. The latest of his ten books are: Guilt: The Bite of Conscience and his memoir, The Way It Turned Out.