Tangiers
1861
Mariano Fortuny captured the gritty reality of North African street life in this moody etching, created during his trip to Morocco in 1861. Instead of the exoticized, glamorous scenes common in Orientalist art, he shows figures huddled in the shadows of a crumbling archway in Tangier, likely seeking refuge from the sun. This trip was originally meant to document the Spanish-Moroccan War, but Fortuny became obsessed with the local culture and light, producing hundreds of sketches like this one. His loose, energetic style here foreshadows the Impressionist movement that would soon take over Europe.
- Technique
- Etching
Views: 5