L’éléphant 

Félix Ziem painted ‘L’éléphant,’ depicting a rider on an elephant in a landscape bathed in the warm hues of either dusk or dawn. Ziem, who traveled extensively, rendering scenes from across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, was part of a broader Orientalist movement. Orientalism provided Europeans with a lens through which they could imagine and represent non-European cultures, often reinforcing colonial power dynamics. Ziem’s works, while celebrated for their atmospheric qualities and vivid colors, also participate in this tradition, presenting viewers with an exoticized vision of distant lands. What we see is more of an imagined East, full of mystery and romance, than an accurate depiction. Here, the lone figure atop the elephant evokes themes of solitude and exploration, against a fiery sky that ignites our imagination. The scene captures a moment of transition, where the boundaries between land and water, day and night, become blurred. Ziem invites us to contemplate the relationships between identity, place, and representation.