Sultan Abel el Rahman 1840

Eugène Delacroix painted Sultan Abel el Rahman with oil on canvas sometime in the 19th century. This work is a product of a French Orientalist fascination with North Africa. France was actively colonizing the region in this period, and imagery played a key role in constructing a relationship, however imaginary, between colonizer and colonized. Delacroix visited Morocco in 1832, and this and other works testify to the impressions this visit made on him. Here, the Sultan appears in an indistinctly rendered public space, surrounded by attendants and members of the court. The scene is loosely brushed, suggesting movement and activity. It's difficult to say whether this work is meant as an admiring portrait or something more critical. We might look to period sources to further understand the public role that Orientalist art played in France. By consulting sources, like travel writing and political writing, we might better understand the politics of such imagery.