Women on the terrace, Tangier

Description of the artwork

Benjamin-Constant arrived in Tangier in the autumn of 1871 and lived there almost continuously until the spring of 1873. The painter rented a house from the Sheriff of Ouezanne, so that he could live as close as possible to the locals. Above all, he enjoyed painting from the kasbah, the highest point in the town.
Our painting was done during this stay, in 1872. It depicts three women relaxing on the terrace of a Tangier palace. The same reverie envelops them, and although they are together, each seems lost in her own thoughts. Their backs are to the ocean and the city that stretches out below the palace. To the right, leaning against a whitewashed wall, a Moorish musician has left her tambourine beside her. The moment is calm and silent.
For the comfort of the three women, several Berber carpets in geometric patterns, embroidered velvet cushions and large leopard skins have been laid out on a low wall. Benjamin-Constant, who had been fascinated by Arab-Moorish architecture on his first trip to Seville, appropriated the whiteness of the city and his desire to see a living, real Orient. On arriving in Tangier, he declared, “This is the city of my dreams! Light, whiteness, brilliance - this is the Orient. It's what I've longed to see.”

Origin

Private Collection

Literature

« Du Maroc aux Indes, Voyages en Orient » by Lynne Thornton, éditions ACR, reproduced p.88