This drawing shows the final composition for the largest painting Delacroix made based on his experience in North Africa, his submission to the Salon of 1845. The Franco-Moroccan war of 1844 must have reignited his interest in the sultan as a subject. By that time, however, the ambassadorial mission was seen as a failure, and Delacroix excluded the French delegation from the group. The omission shifts the work from a record of diplomatic ceremony to an imposing portrait of a ruler.
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Marking: Stamped in red ink, lower left: Delacroix estate mark (Lugt 838a)
Eugène Delacroix (French)(his estate sale, Paris 1864, lot 350); G. Arosa(sale, Paris 1884 no. 131, sold for 405fr).; Dr. Suchet(purchased for 405fr. at Arosa sale, Paris 1884); I. Pereire(sale, Paris 1937 lot 1); Bergaud
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Classicism and Romanticism. French Drawings and Prints," September 15–November 1, 1970.
Paris. Cabinet des dessins, Musée du Louvre. "Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York de David à Picasso," October 25, 1973–January 7, 1974.
Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux. "Profil du Metropolitan Museum of Art de New York: de Ramsès à Picasso," May 15, 1981–September 1, 1981.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections," April 10–June 16, 1991.
CaixaForum Barcelona. "Delacroix, de l'idée à l'expression (1798-1863)," October 19, 2011–January 15, 2012.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Drawings and Prints: Selections from the Permanent Collection," October 8–December 8, 2014.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Devotion to Drawing: The Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix," July 17–November 12, 2018.
Robaut 1711; MMA 1991.44; Johnson vol. 3, text, mentioned p. 183
Alfred-Ernest Robaut L'Oeuvre complet d'Eugène Delacroix: Peintures, Dessins, Gravures, Lithographies. Paris, 1885, cat. no. 1711, p. 434.
Galerie Gobin Delacroix Exh. cat. Paris, 1937, Catalogued as "Chef Arabe dans une Tribu", cat. no. 59.
Elie Lambert "Histoire d'un tableau L'Abd Er Rahman Sultan du Maroc de Delacroix." Collection Hésperis Institut des hautes-études marocaines. no. 14, Paris, 1953, See "Notes" window in Objects module for footnote info., p. 18, footnote.
Jacob Bean "The Drawings Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 20, New York, 1962, fig. no. 19, p. 173, ill.
Jean-François Revel "Delacroix entre les anciens et les modernes." in L' Oeil. no. 101, May 1963, p. 13, ill.
Mémorial de l'exposition Eugène Delacroix organisée au Musée du Louvre a l'occasion du centenaire de la mort de l'artiste. no. 31, Paris, 1963, cat. no. 343, ill.
Jacob Bean 100 European Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: New York Graphic Society, 1964, cat. no. 69, fig. no. 69, ill.
Linda Boyer Gillies, Colta Ives, Jacob Bean Classicism and Romanticism: French Drawings and Prints, 1800-1860. Ex. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1970, cat. no. 29, p. 6.
Jacob Bean, Linda Boyer Gillies, Cynthia Lambros, Roseline Bacou, Réunion des Musées Nationaux Dessins français du Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: de David à Picasso 54th Exposition de Cabinet des Dessins Musée du Louvre, 25 octobre 1973–7 janvier 1974. Paris, 1973, cat. no. 38, ill.
Profil du Metropolitan Museum of Art de New York, de Ramsès à Picasso.. Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, Bordeaux, May 15 - Sept. 1,1981, cat. no. 147, ill.
Maurice Sérullaz Delacroix. Paris, 1981, cat. no. 48, p. 202, ill.
Lee Johnson "Delacroix's Road to the Sultan of Morocco." Apollo Magazine. Apollo Magazine , vol. CRV, no. 241, CRV, no. 241, March 1982.
Lee Johnson The Paintings of Eugène Delacroix. vol. 3, Oxford, 1986, Our drawing mentioned under no. 370 with reference to 1963 Delacroix exhibiiton (no. 349), cat. no. 370, p. 183.
Maurice Arama Le Maroc de Delacroix. 1987, Drawing listed on p. 216, p. 23, ill.
Jacob Bean, Lee Johnson, William M. Griswold Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections. Ex. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1991, cat. no. 44, ill.
Barthélémy Jobert Delacroix. Princeton, New Jersey, 1998, fig. no. 128, p. 163, ill.
Sébastien Allard Delacroix: De l'idée à l'expression (1798-1863). Exh. cat., organized by la Obra Social "la Caixa", in collaboration with the Louvre. Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, 2011, cat. no. 131, 206, 231 (ill.), 324, ill.
Eik Kahng, Marc Gotlieb, Michèle Hannoosh Delacroix and the Matter of Finish. Santa Barbara, 2013, fig. no. 29, p. 31, ill.
Ashley Dunn, Colta Ives, Marjorie Shelley Delacroix Drawings: The Karen B. Cohen Collection. New York, 2018, cat. no. 93, pp. 117, 164, ill.
Managing Editor Michael Cirigliano II takes a walk through an exhibition of works on paper by Eugène Delacroix with Assistant Curator Ashley Dunn to discuss Delacroix's artistic practice, as well as his love of nature and literature.
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The Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished of its kind in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt, a Museum trustee, in 1880.
