Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann went on many trips across Europe throughout her life, and she was also one of the few Danish artists in the 19th century who travelled to the Orient. During the winter of 1869–1870 she went alone to both Constantinople, Athens, Smyrna, Alexandria and Cairo, and she returned to this part of the world again in 1874–75.

Jerichau Baumann was an enterprising businesswoman who had built up a strong network both in artistic circles and among the royalty, and through her contacts at the British royal house she gained access to a harem in Constantinople as one of the first female painters ever. During her travels, she accepted commissions and executed portraits of the Ottoman upper class, and she found inspiration for new motifs such as odalisques, water carriers, and pottery sellers, as for example the painting “En ægyptisk pottesælgerske ved Gizeh” (An Egyptian Pot Seller at Gizeh) at The National Gallery of Denmark (Inv. No. KMS8791). In this part of the world, she also created a network that made it possible for her to observe and gain an insight into what was, at the time, seen as a very mysterious and exotic world. In 1881, she published the book “Brogede Rejsebilleder” (Motley Images of Travel), here she wrote about her experiences during the travels, life in the harem, and the people and customs she met.

Jerzy Miskowiak writes the following about Jerichau Baumann’s motifs from the Orient: “European art in the 19th century was full of “armchair orientalists” – artists who made a career out of painting motifs from the Orient without actually having been there themselves. Based on travelogues and literary publications, they could paint quite convincing depictions (for the untravelled eye) of life in places such as Constantinople (present-day Istanbul). Jerichau Baumann was not content with experiencing the Orient on paper and canvas. [...] Her trips there were decisive because, together with the trip to Egypt in 1870, they gave her access to a whole new world of motifs with the mystery of harem and a sensuality which placed her in the company of the most current international art and not least an art market that hungered for motifs from the Orient.“ (Jerzy Miskowiak, ”Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann. Nationalromantikkens enfant terrible" (Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann – the Enfant Terrible of Romantic Nationalism), Frydenlund 2018, p. 170.