Scene Of Life Around A Mosque In Algeria By Charles-théodore Frère (1814-1888)

Oil on canvas by Charles-Théodore Frère (1814-1888) representing a scene of life around a mosque in Algeria. The painting represents a scene of daily life around a mosque. We can observe storytellers, passers-by, children playing, a stall, women on the terrace hanging out laundry. The painting well illustrates the costumes of the time. It is signed lower left. A French figure of Orientalism, Charles-Théodore Frère settled in Algiers in 1836, and followed the army for the capture of Constantine in 1837. He created paintings for the King of Württemberg during this trip. Around 1853, he settled in Cairo and became court painter. He was elevated to the rank of “bey” by the vice king of Egypt, a Turkish title designating him as head of his lands. In 1869, he was part of Empress Eugénie's retinue traveling to the Orient on the occasion of the opening of the Suez Canal. His works are part of public collections in the United States (New York Metropolitan Museum of Art...), France, Algeria, Russia (Hermitage Museum).