Standing Arab
ca. 1853
French artist Eugène Fromentin was absolutely captivated by North Africa, and this swift sketch from around 1853 shows why. He uses bold, dark strokes contrasted with bright white highlights to bring a standing figure in traditional robes and a turban to life on grey paper. It feels like a quick, on-the-spot study, capturing the heavy drape of the fabric and the man's profile with energetic, loose lines. As a leading Orientalist painter, Fromentin traveled extensively in Algeria, and drawings like this served as vital homework for his larger, more famous oil paintings back in Paris.
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