Market in Cairo

Description of the artwork

At the market in Cairo, a group of men listen to a kissar player, seemingly transported by what they hear. In the background, a child looking towards the group also appears to be listening: he establishes the link between these characters absorbed by the music and the merchants busy with their negotiations. The figures and skin tones are painted very naturally, with a delicate brush, while the clothes are treated with more texture, creating an interesting contrast. The colourful atmosphere, in the brown and ochre tones of the sun and the buildings of Cairo, is counterbalanced by various chromatic accents of pink, yellow, blue and green.

Müller often depicted lively scenes in front of the gates of Cairo or in the middle of the desert, such as market scenes and scenes of everyday life. The artist used to paint studies from life, executed quickly on small canvases with a lively brushstroke. He then composed his larger works in his studio in Venice or Vienna. Later in his career, he began to paint large formats directly in Cairo.

Our work is another version of the large canvas entitled Market Place at the Gates of Cairo, painted in 1878 and now kept at the Belvedere Museum in Vienna. In fact, Müller travelled to Cairo in the winter of 1877-1878, where he made isolated studies of certain figures that would later make up his painting. In our canvas, the artist focused his attention on the main group in the foreground. This composition was copied by many of Müller's students, who perceived the work as one of the artist's most important and ambitious.

Origin

Private Collection, France