The Tower of Casbah, Algiers 1927

Allan McNab created this print, “The Tower of Casbah, Algiers,” sometime in the early 20th century. It depicts a scene in the Casbah, the old city of Algiers, with a prominent tower overlooking the dense urban landscape and the sea. As an image created during the French colonial period, the print invites us to consider the politics of representation. How does it portray Algiers and its inhabitants for a Western audience? The emphasis on the architecture and the picturesque qualities of the scene might reflect a colonial gaze, romanticizing the "exotic" other. Or is it an attempt to give an understanding of the country? To understand this work, we can draw on historical archives, travel literature, and studies of colonialism. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional contexts.