Scene in the Jewish Quarter of Constantine

1851
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 804
Chassériau witnessed this scene and sketched it in his notebook during a trip to Algeria in 1846. From the ancient town of Constantine he wrote, "I have seen some highly curious things: primitive and overwhelming, touching and singular. At Constantine, which is high up in some enormous mountains, one sees the Arab people and the Jewish people [living] as they were at the beginning of time." The Jewish women of North Africa were especially attractive subjects for European painters because they did not wear veils.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Scene in the Jewish Quarter of Constantine
  • Artist: Théodore Chassériau (French, Le Limon, Saint-Domingue, West Indies 1819–1856 Paris)
  • Date: 1851
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 22 3/8 x 18 1/2 in. (56.8 x 47 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Annenberg Foundation Gift, 1996
  • Object Number: 1996.285
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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6030. Scene in the Jewish Quarter of Constantine

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