An Arab Market 

Giulio Rosati painted ‘An Arab Market’ using oil paints, probably in his studio in Italy, not on location. The painting shows a romanticised view of a bustling marketplace with a plethora of North African goods. What's interesting here is the implicit tension between the artist's labor and that of the many artisans who produced the items depicted. Rosati likely never engaged with the cultural context he portrays, which contrasts sharply with the extensive traditional knowledge required for creating carpets, ceramics, and metalwork. These highly-skilled crafts, integral to local economies and cultural identity, are here reduced to mere props in an Orientalist fantasy. Rosati skillfully captures the textures and colors of the scene, but his method – the application of paint on canvas – stands apart from the processes he depicts. It is a reminder of how easily the labor embedded in material culture can be overlooked. We can appreciate the aesthetic appeal of Rosati’s painting, but it’s also vital to acknowledge the skill and effort behind the objects that populate this imagined scene.