Study for "Visit of the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress to Algeria"

Isidore Pils French

Not on view

After achieving success with paintings of Crimean War subjects, Pils received a commission for a monumental work commemorating Napoleon III’s visit to Algeria in 1860. Though the painting is now lost, an oil sketch reveals that this drawing is a study for the central figure of the composition, one of the Kabyle leaders who received the Emperor. Pils spent two years in Kabylie, a northern region of Algeria, sketching the landscape and people. In this accomplished study, he effectively combines black and white chalks to convey the light hitting the burnous, a garment traditionally worn for important events by high-ranking individuals.

Study for "Visit of the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress to Algeria", Isidore Pils (French, Paris 1813/15–1875 Douarnenez), Black and white chalk on gray paper

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