Arab School

1841–51

Not on view

Lewis lived in Cairo for a decade, adopting local dress and customs and making drawings that record aspects of Egyptian life. He took this sheet back to London in 1851 and used it to develop an exhibited watercolor, Interior of a School, Cairo (1865, Victoria and Albert Museum). The artist responds to the routine of a Qur'an classroom, centering his sketch on a boy who prepares to recite for a bearded Hoja or teacher. Lewis describes faces and turbans, but indicates the setting broadly and uses the brown paper–now darkened–to suggest unadorned walls and floor, and to provide a base for quickly brushed costume elements and wood grain of the teacher's desk. In contrast to the artist's elaborately detailed finished watercolors, this study demonstrates his rapid, informal use of the medium.

Artwork Details

Title: Arab School
Artist: John Frederick Lewis (British, London 1804–1876 Walton-on-Thames)
Date: 1841–51
Medium: Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over black chalk on brownish paper
Dimensions: sheet: 11 11/16 x 19 1/8 in. (29.7 x 48.6 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Anonymous Gift, 1961
Object Number: 61.218.2
Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

By John Frederick Lewis

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Iskander Bey and His Servant, John Frederick Lewis British, Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over graphite — Iskander Bey and His Servant
John Frederick Lewis
Iskandar Bey (Mohamed el Mahdy)
ca. 1848

Study for "The Pipe Bearer", John Frederick Lewis British, Watercolor, gouache (bodycolor) and black chalk on gray paper — Study for "The Pipe Bearer"
John Frederick Lewis
1841–51

Two Camels, John Frederick Lewis British, Watercolor and gouache (bodycolor) over black chalk on brownish paper — Two Camels
John Frederick Lewis
ca. 1843

The Lake of Zug, Joseph Mallord William Turner British, Watercolor and bodycolor (gouache) with reductive techniques over graphite — The Lake of Zug
Joseph Mallord William Turner
1843

The Entombment, Sir Edward Burne-Jones British, Green, blue, brown and touches of reddish bodycolor, heightened with white gouache (bodycolor) on green paper — The Entombment
Sir Edward Burne-Jones
1879

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.