El mechero de Hookah Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904)

The painting depicts a scene in what appears to be an opulent bathhouse or harem. In the foreground, a young woman is seated on a tiled floor, her back to the viewer, and is actively smoking a hookah. She is unclothed. In the background, several other nude women are visible, some wading in the water, others lounging or interacting. One woman in the mid-ground is reaching out to another woman who is holding an orange. A decorative fountain stands in the center of the pool. The architecture suggests an Eastern or Moorish influence, with ornate railings and carved stone. The lighting creates a serene and somewhat languid atmosphere.
The subtexts of this painting can be interpreted in several ways. The emphasis on the nude female form, particularly within the context of a private, possibly forbidden space like a harem, aligns with the Orientalist movement in art, which often exoticized and eroticized the East for a Western audience. The hookah smoking itself is an element associated with leisure and sensuality in many Eastern cultures, further contributing to this exotic portrayal. The painting can be seen as an exploration of sensuality, leisure, and the beauty of the female body, presented through a lens that romanticizes and perhaps objectifies the figures and the setting. It invites the viewer to be a voyeur into this seemingly private and intimate space.