Eastern Scene with Minaret, undated (Oil on canvas)

Painted by Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896)

Why Is It Important?

In common with many artists of the period, Leighton travelled to the Middle-East on a number of occasions. Throughout North Africa, Turkey and Damascus (now part of modern Syria) he made numerous pencil sketches and other studies in oil. He was particularly affected by the quality of light he encountered together with what might now be considered a somewhat sentimental attachment to local colour. Many of the sketches were used in a more developed form as background incident in his finished works.

Cultural Links

The minaret form possessed a practical significance as a means by which the "call to prayer" ("azzan") could be delivered over the low-lying houses of the town or village. Symbolically the towering structure was a representation of the individual reaching out to heaven.

Next : A short necked bottle-shaped vase, circa 1880.

Previous : A Courtyard, Algiers, circa 1879 (Oil on panel).

End Arab Hall Tour.