Musiciens juifs de Mogador

Jewish Musicians of Mogador from 1847 at the Louvre shows Delacroix painting musicians he observed during his 1832 Moroccan journey. The trip provided subjects he returned to for over two decades, and the Jewish community of Morocco particularly fascinated him. As the leading French Romantic painter, Delacroix brought passionate color and dynamic energy to all his subjects; his journal records his constant study of color relationships and his admiration for Rubens, Constable, and Veronese.

The musicians are rendered with rich Orientalist color and atmospheric handling. Delacroix's palette captures the exotic setting with characteristic chromatic brilliance.