Arnaut smoking* by Jean-Léon Gérôme

This emblematic work is fully part of the Orientalism movement, a major French academic trend of the nineteenth century. The famous painter Gérôme Jean-Léon illustrates here a portrait of great refinement and dignity. The composition entitled “Arnaut smoking” features a soldier of the Ottoman Empire in a moment of solitary contemplation. This remarkable creation testifies to the artist’s taste for traditional costumes and the peaceful atmosphere of Cairo interiors.

In an oriental interior richly decorated with carved wooden moucharabiehs, an Arnaut warrior is comfortably seated. He wears a very loose pleated white fustanella, an embroidered vest and a leather belt stuffed with crafted weapons. His head topped with a blue turban, he holds in his hand the flexible pipe of a large hookah placed at his feet. To his left, a small inlaid wooden table supports a cup of coffee. The soft light from the side window caresses the folds of his white skirt and makes the metallic details of his weapons shine. The general atmosphere is one of reverie and silent rest.

The artist’s technical virtuosity is expressed in the exceptional rendering of materials, from the wood of the partitions to the satin of the vest. His perfect mastery of oil painting confers a striking realism to the complex draperies of the fustanella. This masterpiece testifies to an immense pictorial and anatomical expertise.