The Opium Den by Vincent G. Stiepevich

This Painting “The Opium Den” depicts what a Russian thought of the typical Middle-Eastern day in the mid 19th Century. Notice that the subject, a drug house, is used to immediately show the viewer that these people enjoy taboo things such as illegal drugs.  I also find the ornate nature of the room to be very interesting, because it points out the “You want to look, but it’s also too weird” aspect of Oriental life. This painting almost seems to mock the Middle-Easterners, showing that, although they have beautiful and ornate houses, they are wasting their days on drugs. The man here is much darker than the woman, although both are clearly of Asian and/or Middle-Eastern descent. I do not think that Mr. Stiepevich saw a real Opium den, and was only using this painting to further the stereotype that people of the Orient were nothing more than drug addicts.

Painting found at: http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/thumbnail/124865/1/The-Opium-Den.jpg