Study for "The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage"
Eugène Delacroix French
Not on view
Among his North African subjects, Delacroix returned repeatedly to Sultan Abd er-Rahman, the Moroccan ruler the French diplomatic mission had gone to meet. (Their aim, following the French invasion of Algeria in 1830, was to seek his cooperation to maintain control of the neighboring occupied territory.) Not long after the encounter took place, Delacroix made this compositional study based on his recollections and notes from the day. The drawing includes all the main protagonists: the sultan on horseback, two of his ministers at left, a military chief near the center with his back to the viewer, and French diplomat Charles de Mornay immediately to the right, accompanied by his interpreter.
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