Eugene Delacroix and John Frederick Lewis are considered the Orientalist painters of their time. The paintings The Women of Algiers (in Their Apartment) by Eugene Delacroix and The Midday Meal, Cairo by John Frederick Lewis are inspired by the art and culture of the Middle East. The Women of Algiers (in their apartment) by Eugene Delacroix is ​​an oil on canvas and is still found today in the Louvre in Paris. The Mid-Day Meal, Cairo by John Frederick Lewis is a pencil, watercolour, bodycolour, and gum arabic on wove paper and is owned by a private owner in London. These artworks were created when these two artists were traveling in the Middle East. These images were witnessed through their eyes and were not just made in imagination. They represented what they saw. The many different customs and daily life were recorded by them through their many art forms. Most of their arts were figure studies, and some involved the streets, bazaars, and mosques. The artworks they produced exuded the different costumes worn by men and women, the exoticism displayed, and the nocturnal performances when the arts were performed indoors. The Orientalist era began when Napoleon marched into Egypt with an army, and defeated the Turks at the Battle of the Pyramids. “A torrent of Westerners has arrived in the Middle East. The writers who recounted their experiences and the artists who painted what they saw became known as the Orientalists.” (Fink). 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 heaviness of the detail. "Some of... half of the paper... the one that survives will always be remembered as the cornerstone of art" today.Works CitedChristie's. "John Frederick Lewis (English, 1805-1876)", The Midday 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, Eugène." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. December 4, 2011Meagher, Jennifer. "Orientalism in 19th-century art". Chronology of Heillbrun's art history. 2000-2011. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/euor/hd_euor.htm. <12-06-11>Preston, Harley. “Lewis(s).” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. December 3. 2011 .