Muley-Abd-Err-Rahmann, sultan du Maroc sortant de son palais de Mequinez

Delacroix's Sultan of Morocco of 1845, depicting Abd er-Rahman leaving the palace of Meknes surrounded by his court and guard, was the monumental culmination of his 1832 Moroccan experience. The subject required him to organize a complex ceremonial procession — horses, soldiers, retainers, and the sultan at the center — into a coherent pictorial composition, a challenge he met by structuring the scene around the sultan's impassive authority at the center of controlled movement. The painting was exhibited at the 1845 Salon to considerable acclaim, confirming that Delacroix's Orientalist paintings were among the defining images of his era.

The brilliant sunlight and deep shadows of the Moroccan setting are rendered with a vibrant palette of warm yellows, reds, and deep blues. The processional composition conveys the pomp and spectacle Delacroix witnessed firsthand.