Eugène Delacroix and John Frederick Lewis are considered the Orientalist painters of their time. The paintings The Women of Algiers (in their Apartment) by Eugène Delacroix and The Midday Meal, Cairo by John Frederick Lewis are inspired by Middle Eastern art and culture. The Women of Algiers (in their apartment) by Eugène Delacroix is ​​an oil on canvas and can still be found today in the Louvre in Paris. The Mid-Day Meal, Cairo by John Frederick Lewis is a work in pencil, watercolor, body color and gum arabic on woven paper and privately owned in London. These artworks were created when these two artists traveled to the Middle East. . These visuals were observed through their eyes and were not made by imagination alone. They represented what they saw. The many customs and daily life were recorded by them through their many art forms. Most of their arts were figure studies, and some concerned streets, bazaars and mosques. The artwork they produced exuded the different costumes the men and women wore, the exoticism on display, and the nocturnal play when the arts took place indoors. The Orientalist era began when Napoleon entered Egypt with an army, and defeated the Turks at the Battle of the Pyramids. “A torrent of Westerners has arrived in the Middle East. Writers who wrote about their experiences and artists who painted what they saw became known as Orientalists. » (Snitch). Although the artists who traveled to these places created some of the greatest masterpieces of their lives, some were not well received by the natives. Many of these artists created beautiful paintings that almost looked like they had been photographed due to the heavy detail. “Some of...... middle of paper ...... what has survived will always be remembered as the cornerstone of art. Today. Works Cited Christie's. “John Frederick Lewis (British, 1805-1876)”, The Mid-Day Meal, Cairo. http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=5263436. <12-04-11>Fink, Rick. “Orientalist art of the 19th century.” Orientalist art. 2000. http://www.orientalistart.net/index.html. <12-05-11>Harrison, Colin. “Delacroix, Eugene.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. December 4, 2011 Meagher, Jennifer. “Orientalism in 19th-century art.” Heillbrun Chronology of Art History. 2000-2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/euor/hd_euor.htm. <12-06-11>Preston, Harley. “Lewis (I).” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. December 3. 2011 .