Abd el-Kader 1837 - 1840

Curator: So, let's have a wee gander at this print. What do you think? Editor: This is an engraving by J. Sartor called "Abd el-Kader," created sometime between 1837 and 1840. It's a portrait, clearly, and I notice it seems very stately and… well, a bit romanticized, almost like a character in a play. What's your take? Curator: Oh, you’re right on! I reckon what really leaps out at me is how Abd el-Kader, a pretty amazing Algerian religious and military leader, is depicted through that slightly smudgy lens of Orientalism. It was a bit of a fad then. I see someone heroic, but slightly distanced from us, caught between reality and projection… Do you see what I mean? Editor: I do. I guess the style emphasizes the "exotic," even if he was a real historical figure, right? Is there anything else about the technique that's important? Curator: Well, consider this. This engraving romanticizes him, and softens what I expect must've been his firm jaw. But Sartor clearly uses all these tiny engraved lines to create shadow, to define that fancy jacket he’s wearing. To me, Abd el-Kader is standing with all this decorative power... yet still humanized in ways you only get with portraiture. But consider who made it? To whose taste was this aimed? Tricky question, right? Editor: Definitely! So much to consider, and so different from what I originally thought just from looking at the surface. Thanks! Curator: Any time. To have a subject both seen, and obscured! It's beautiful, tragic... and isn't that just life?