His Highness Muhemed Ali, Pacha of Egypt

David Wilkie's portrait of Muhammad Ali, Pasha of Egypt of 1841, painted during his journey to the Near East, depicts one of the most significant political figures of the early nineteenth century — the Albanian-born Ottoman general who had effectively made Egypt an autonomous state, massacred the Mamluks, and attempted to industrialize and modernize his domain. Wilkie met Muhammad Ali in Alexandria and made studies for this monumental portrait that would be among his last major works; he died at sea returning from the journey. The portrait documents a historical encounter between British painting tradition and the Ottoman world.

Wilkie renders the Egyptian ruler with the broad, loose brushwork of his late style, influenced by his study of Spanish masters. The warm palette and the dignified pose convey the pasha's authority and political power.