Short answers, pulled from the story.
The word orient entered the English language as the Middle French orient in the late medieval period. Geoffrey Chaucer wrote about conquering many great realms in the orient within his Monk's Tale of 1375.
Cultural critic Edward Said published his book Orientalism in 1978 to redefine the term as a pervasive Western tradition of prejudiced outsider-interpretations. The book became foundational text of post-colonial cultural studies within academic circles after its publication.
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres painted The Turkish Bath in 1862 which made eroticized Orient publicly acceptable through diffuse generalizing of female forms. This work contributed to the public acceptance of eroticized depictions of the East.
Eugène Delacroix visited Algeria and Morocco as part of a diplomatic mission to the Sultan of Morocco in 1832. He painted scenes from this trip including Women of Algiers after gaining access to women's quarters.
First Western translation of Sanskrit text appeared in 1785 marking growing interest in Indian culture and languages. Translations of Upanishads first appeared in 1801 and 1802 which Arthur Schopenhauer called consolation of my life.